Godlings and Graduations
by Neuropsych
Summary: COMPLETE! A huge case of mistaken identity, and add to it that Cassie's getting ready to graduate, and Ian doesn't have a clue what to get her... Rated for language!
1. 01

**Godlings and Graduations**

_Disclaimer: The characters that I don't make up don't belong to me; I simply borrow them for the duration of the story. Everyone else is simply a figment of my imagination. I'm not making money off this story, so don't sue me!_

_Author's Note: I wasn't going to start this until I was finished with the Harry Potter crossover, but I fell to the pressure of several people asking me continually for the next story, so here you go!_

OOOOOOOO

"I don't know, Sam…" Ian said, looking at the miniature that was sitting on the table in front of them. "It doesn't look exactly like the one that I drew…"

Sam smiled, and picked up the paper that she and Ian had been using as a blueprint for the prototype spacecraft that they'd been working on for the last week.

"It's not going to look _exactly_ like it, Ian," she said reasonably. "Not until we can actually try to build a full-sized one – and we both know it'll be a while before we can do that."

Especially if they wanted to put the drive in it that Ian had been working on. They still had to actually build that _drive_, first, and then work out the problem of finding an alloy to build the ship out of that would be strong enough to handle the structural stresses that Ian's drive would put on the ship. Otherwise it would fly apart the first time they tried to activate the thing.

"It's kind of ugly…"

Sam shrugged, and set the paper down on the table beside the little spacecraft.

"At least we didn't build it out of legos this time."

He smiled at that, glancing over at the shelf that she had put his original creation on. That one was ugly, too, he decided. But it wasn't supposed to be pretty, it was supposed to be able to handle his drive, and that was all that mattered. He could let someone else worry about the aesthetics involved – once they had the main design down.

"So now all we need to do is build the drive…" Ian said.

"Which we'll start working on once school's out and you have a bit more free time to help."

There was no way Sam was going to tackle that drive by herself – even though she was pretty sure she understood it. It was Ian's brainchild, and it'd be better if he were there during the development. And not distracted by schoolwork.

Ian scowled at the mention of school getting out, and Sam knew it wasn't because he wasn't looking forward to having the classes at the academy stop for the summer. It was something else entirely.

"Still haven't figured out what to get Cassie for graduation?"

He shook his head, not even bothering to ask how she knew he hadn't gotten Cassie a present, yet. _Jack_ knew. And what Jack knew, Sam knew.

"Not a clue."

"It's not supposed to be that difficult, Ian," Sam told him, smiling.

"It's not all that easy."

"Get her a piece of jewelry. She'd love it – especially from you."

He frowned; looking over at the door to Sam's lab as if to make sure that there wasn't anyone else around, and then shook his head.

"If I get her a ring – or a necklace or something like that – then she's going to think I'm planning on having a long-term relationship with her."

Sam raised an eyebrow.

"You're not?"

"I would. But…" he trailed off, looking as if he were trying to think of the right words to say. He already knew he'd said it wrong – just to judge by the way Sam was looking at him. "She's great, Sam."

"I know."

"But she's going to be off to college next fall."

"And you think you guys couldn't do a long-distance relationship?"

"I think she's going to find out that there are a lot of guys out there that are just as smart as I am – and are a lot easier to be in a relationship with. And I don't want her to feel chained to me… which she _might_ if I gave her any kind of jewelry."

Sam shook her head.

"There's nothing wrong with you, Ian."

He shrugged, but he didn't say anything, and she knew that he didn't believe that. Even more, he turned away from her, which told her that he _really_ didn't believe it – and that annoyed her.

"Ian, we're going to have to work on this low self-esteem thing you have going on…"

Now he did look at her, and she was surprised to see a ghost of a smile on his face.

"There's nothing wrong with my self-esteem, Sam. You can ask anyone at the academy; I'm better than all of them and have no problem reminding them of it every time I see them."

Sam chuckled, and started to say something, but she was interrupted by a rap on the door. Both of them turned and saw Daniel standing there.

"Ian? Are you coming to briefing or is General Hammond going to have to send out the hounds?"

Sam had a feeling Hammond had said exactly that when he'd sent Daniel to remind the cadet about their morning briefing.

"I'm coming right now, Daniel," Ian said, not at all self-conscious about having someone come fetch him for a briefing he should have remembered they were scheduled to have. He hadn't forgotten, after all. He'd simply been busy with something else just then. He gave Sam a quick smile. "I'll see you later."

"This conversation isn't over, Ian…" she warned him. She'd let it drop for now, but only because he had other things to do just then.

"Yes, Ma'am."

He wasn't worried. Sam had lots of other things to occupy her mind. She'd forget about their conversation eventually. He headed for the door. They had a briefing, and a mission – and if he got lucky, maybe an idea for a present for Cassie would fall out of the sky and hit him on the head.


	2. 02

"As near as we can tell, the inhabitants of P3X-95-A are hunter/gatherer types – _nomads_ of a sort…"

Daniel paused to make sure he had everyone's attention, and then continued when he saw that he did. More or less. Jack was sitting beside Ian, who had one of the folders Daniel had made up open on the table in front of him, and both of them were watching him. Teal'c was seated on the other side of the briefing table, watching as well, and both Jack (the dog) and Jaffer were under the table – probably licking themselves since they had no reason to pay attention.

"What do they have that we need?" Ian asked, proving that he'd been paying attention.

"The people themselves… nothing."

Jack raised an eyebrow at that.

"Then what are we going there for?"

"Because when SG-10 went there on the first exploration trip, they found this…"

Daniel dropped a rock on the table. It landed with a slightly metallic thud, and Jack reached out to pick it up.

"Rocks?"

Before he could say something about earth having lots of rocks of its own, Daniel spoke up.

"They're not rocks, Jack. I mean, they _look_ like rocks, yes, but they're not."

"What are they?" Teal'c asked.

"We're not positive, but it shows every sign of being some sort of energy source."

"Excuse me?"

This was from Ian, who looked up from the folder he'd been flipping through. If there had been a new energy source being experimented on in the SGC, he would have known about it. Aside from Sam, he was probably as involved as anyone when it came to what was going on in the labs.

Daniel smiled, and turned towards the wall, which held a monitor. A moment later it turned on, and there was a photo of a wall of some sort – or maybe just a slab of granite or some other stone – showing carvings in the wall. Carvings of representations of people holding what might have been the rocks, and standing around a roaring fire with a very small pebble on the very bottom of it.

"If the rocks in the picture are the same as these found by SG-10, then the people that live on the planet use them – or _used_ them – as an energy source."

"Like coal?" Ian asked.

Daniel shrugged.

"I had a couple guys try to burn one of the stones, but it's not flammable."

"So…?" Jack asked. "What does that mean?"

"It means if the rocks are an energy source – and I'm inclined to believe they are because of these carvings – then we need to find out how to use them."

"Did you try soaking the rock in lighter fluid or something?" Ian asked, looking back at the picture. The rock was definitely on fire...

Daniel shook his head.

"I thought it'd be better to see if we could find out what use the natives put the rocks to before we started experimenting." He pointed to the picture on the wall. "It looks like this huge fire is fueled by only one very small rock."

Ian had to agree with that, and he caught the ramifications immediately.

"So it has the potential to be a _potent_ power source…"

"They could be as potent as nuclear fusion for all I know," Daniel said, shrugging. "We just won't know until someone goes and checks it out."

"Which is where we come in," Jack said.

Daniel nodded.

"What kind of people are these hunter/gatherers?" Teal'c asked. "Are we to ask them to demonstrate the usage of their stones…?"

"I'm not really sure," Daniel admitted. "SG-10 didn't have much opportunity to observe them, so all we really know about them is that they travel quite a bit – although we're not sure if there are more than one tribe so to speak – or if the entire population of the planet are concentrated in that one particular area."

"Are they aware of the gate?" Hammond asked.

"We don't know."

"We don't seem to know very much," Jack complained.

"That's the whole point of exploring, right?" Daniel challenged.

Jack scowled, but he had to admit that yeah, that _was_ the whole point of exploring. Ian grinned.

"So, this mission is simply a fact-finding one," Hammond said, taking control of the briefing. Daniel took a seat next to Teal'c, reaching for the folder he'd dropped on the table before standing up. "What you're going to do is check out these people, and assess whether or not you think it's safe to approach them openly. Either way, you'll report back and notify us of your intentions. If they turn out to be aggressive, or dangerous, then I want you to try and get more samples of Doctor Jackson's rocks, and we'll just do our own experiments on them."

Jack nodded.

"Yes, sir."

"Experimenting on our own isn't necessarily the best plan, Jack," Daniel said. "If these stones are as potent as I believe they could be, then there's always the possibility that we'll blow the mountain up around us if we make a wrong move."

There was a happy thought.

Hammond stood up, effectively ending the briefing.

"Go get geared up, SG-1. You'll have 48 hours to find out what you can about these people – and then I want you back here to report."

"Yes, sir."

Hammond looked at Ian.

"I don't have to remind you to do what you're told?"

Ian scowled. This was the same question Hammond had asked him before every mission offworld since the first time he'd allowed him through the gate. Ian had a perfect memory, for Christ's sake – and Hammond knew it. Of course he didn't have to remind him.

"No, sir."

"Good."

Still scowling, Ian stood up as well, and followed the rest of the team out of the briefing room.


	3. 03

_Author's note: Since today is my birthday and I'm not sure of my schedule (and I have to work) I'm not sure if you guys will see more than one chapter from me today. So enjoy it!_

OOOOOOOOO

After they all geared up and before they headed to the gate room, it was no surprise to any of them that they made a stop at Sam's lab. She already knew they were going, of course, and for how long. And she knew that Jack would worry about her and Jake while he was gone as much as she would worry about him. And she was determined not to let him see just how much she hated the thought of him being gone.

"It's not raining there, is it?" She asked with a slight smile as he told her where they were going and why.

"I don't know," he admitted, looking over at Daniel, who was standing by the door with the others to give them their privacy. "Daniel?"

"The probe indicated the weather's fine," the archeologist answered.

"For _now_," Jack said, sarcastically, turning back to Sam. "Once we get there, though, it'll probably start raining and hailing…"

Sam smiled.

"Then you'd better take a coat."

"Heartless woman."

Ian snickered from the doorway, and Sam's smile grew.

"Hurry back."

Jack nodded.

"As soon as we can, Sam."

He kissed her softly, then, as the others all found something interesting in the hall to do, and pulled away from her a moment later.

"We'll barbeque when I get back, eh?"

She nodded.

"I'll buy some steaks."

Then she looked down at Jaffer, who was standing beside Jack, and she knelt and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

"You keep an eye on him, okay?"

The big lab rumbled deep in his throat, and licked her ear – which was the only part of her he could get to. Sam released him and stood up again, and Jack hesitated, torn as he always was between staying with her and doing his duty.

"If you need anything, call Hammond… or Thorpe. SG-3 is on downtime and he'll be around…"

"I will." She smiled. "Keep Ian out of trouble – and don't let Daniel wander off."

Jack snorted.

"Why not tell me to stop the sun from rising in the morning?"

He caught her hand and gave it a squeeze, and headed for the door, trailed by her chuckles.

"Let's go you guys."

The sooner they left, the sooner they'd get back.

OOOOOOOOOO

"Okay… P3X-95-A officially blows."

Daniel looked over at Ian. The six of them had just emerged from the gate, which had deactivated behind them, and were standing at the top of a very slight incline. Surrounded by trees.

"You know, there's nothing _wrong_ with trees…"

Ian scowled.

"Except that they conceal everything – and people can _hide_ behind them, and so can wild monkeys or something…"

Jack looked at Daniel.

"Are there monkeys on this planet?"

"The probe didn't see any – and neither did SG-10…"

"See?" Jack said to Ian. "No monkeys."

They all stepped off the incline – which might at one time have been a huge earthen alter now that Daniel had had a chance to look closely at the crumbled rock and dirt around them. Trained as he was to spot that kind of thing, he could now see what they hadn't been able to see in the pictures sent back by the probes and brought back by SG-10.

"Well… _someone_ knows about the gate – or _knew_ about it, anyways."

"Why do you say that?" Jack asked, looking as well. All he saw were rocks and dirt.

"Because the gate is sitting on what might have been an alter – although it might just have been a way to raise it higher than the ground level, too…"

"It does not look like an alter," Teal'c said.

"Well… no," Daniel said, kneeling down and idly pushing Jaffer out of the way when the black lab came over to see what he was looking at. "But it might have been. The earth here isn't in a normal position…"

"Maybe none of it is on this planet?" Ian said, looking down as well, but nowhere near as interested as Daniel.

"Well, let's check the place out," Jack said, deciding that he'd looked at the ground enough for just then. "Teal'c, you and Jack take left flank. Ian, you take Jaffer and go right, Daniel and I will take point."

With the dogs on either flank, they wouldn't really have to worry about someone coming up behind them unseen – at least he didn't think they would – and he knew Jaffer could keep Ian out of trouble as well as he could, which would leave him free to watch Daniel.

The others nodded, and took their positions with Jaffer trotting over to walk beside Ian, his nose on the ground one moment and in the air the next, testing the gentle breeze that was coming into their faces. Ian veered off towards the right with Jaffer, his P90 in a position that he'd be able to bring it to bear if he needed to.

The trees were really thick – although they didn't have as heavy a canopy, so there was a fair amount of sunlight filtering down through the leaves and branches – which made walking difficult, but far from impossible. He watched as Jack and Daniel headed for their position on point, and could just see Teal'c and Jack (the dog) making off for the left, Jack's tail wagging furiously as he caught the fresh scents on the breeze as well.

Behind them, unmoving and incredibly silent, a small face peered through a screen of bushes, watching them warily. He looked behind him, as if debating something, and then looked forward once more, finally stepping through the brush and silently moving forward, a small spear gripped tightly in one hand.


	4. 04

The ground they were walking over now was rough. Still filled with trees, there were roots sticking up in every direction, long trailing vines hanging down from the branches, bushes that would block whatever little path he might want to take, and all sorts of little holes – like gopher holes or something – that Ian was constantly forced to step around or over to avoid twisting an ankle or taking a fall.

And the entire time, he was swearing under his breath about it.

Ian Brooks was a city boy. Always had been, always would be. And he knew it. He didn't go camping. He didn't enjoy roughing it, he'd only been a boy scout for a week, and without a lighter and a half-gallon of gasoline, he figured he probably couldn't get fire started on his own without a manual to work with. At least he never had tried.

Until he'd joined SG-1 he'd never slept outdoors more than one night in a row – ever. He'd never wanted to, and when he'd been a boy, he'd rarely been forced into any activity that he didn't want to do.

He did, however, hunt. With his uncle he'd spent several weeks every summer in the woods (during the day, since they had a cabin and didn't have to camp out) walking with a shotgun slung in one arm and a dog at his side. So while he wasn't Daniel Boone or Davy Crockett, Ian was accustomed to working with dogs – labs in particular. And he was working with one of the best there was just then.

So when Jaffer started stopping occasionally and looking back over his shoulder as they walked, Ian noted it immediately. And when the lab growled softly, deep in his throat, Ian stopped completely and looked over his shoulder as well.

He didn't see anything. Just a whole lot of trees. But he was more than willing to accept that Jaffer's senses were a lot better than his own. Even with the gentle breeze that was blowing against their faces, which would affect how well Jaffer, could smell anything behind them. He put his P90 in his right hand – shotgun style – and keyed his mike with his left; still watching Jaffer, since he knew the lab would see anything long before he did.

"Teal'c?"

It was only a moment before the Jaffa answered.

"Yes, Ian Brooks?"

"Is Jack acting odd?"

There was a pause as Teal'c either tried to figure out what Ian had meant by odd or he watched the dog, but it wasn't Teal'c who spoke next, it was Jack. Ever mindful of anything that might be a threat – and if Jaffer was acting odd, then that could be a sign of a threat – Jack was instantly alert.

"What's going on, Ian?"

"I think Jaffer hears something – or senses it or something. He's acting like it, anyways."

"Get back here."

"Yes, sir."

He looked down at Jaffer, who was still looking back the way they'd come.

"C'mon, Jaffer, let's go see Jack."

The lab wagged his tail, but he growled again, looking back towards the wooded area behind them suspiciously.

As he changed their course so they would intercept Jack and Daniel, Ian could hear Jack on the radio asking Teal'c the same question Ian himself had. And could hear Teal'c reply that Jack (the dog) was acting the same way he always did and was giving no indication of any problem. Jack ordered Teal'c to close ranks as well, unwilling to allow his team to be too far apart if they were going to run into trouble.

A snapping sound behind them drew Ian and Jaffer both up short, and they both turned instantly, looking behind them. Jaffer's growl grew deeper, and more ominous – now the lab was clearly warning whatever (or whoever) was behind them that he wasn't something to mess with.

Unwilling to turn his back completely on a potential threat – Ian had learned that lesson the hard way, but _had_ learned it utterly – he scowled, and started back towards the others with his body slightly turned the direction the sound had come from. Jaffer, too, was watching their six, and the hackles on the scruff of his neck were coming up, making him look even larger.

"Ian?"

Ian about jumped out of his skin at the sound of Jack's voice on the radio. And damned near stepped into one of those gopher holes. The forest was incredibly quiet – there weren't even any birds chirping or anything – and it was spooky. Especially to a city boy.

"Shit!" He keyed the mike. "Yeah?"

"You okay?"

"Yeah. We're on our way."

"We're coming towards you, too, so don't be startled."

Meaning Jack didn't want him to accidentally shoot them. Ian nodded, realized Jack wouldn't see the nod, and spoke into the radio.

"Okay."

He looked down at Jaffer, who was still growling softly.

"It might have been a deer…"

The lab looked up at him, and Ian shrugged. Yeah. _He_ didn't think it had been a deer, either.

"Come on."

They started moving again, the wind picking up a little and the leaves on the trees and bushes all around them rustling suddenly. Jaffer's growls increased – Ian had a feeling the lab was as edgy as he was – and the dog's head turned into the breeze, now, his lips curling back into a snarl.

"What the fuck…?"

Ian turned again, facing the same way Jaffer was. And out of nowhere, a small form stepped out from behind a tree not more than twenty feet ahead of them.

"Stop!"

The voice wasn't very commanding, but the spear held in the little hand certainly had Ian's attention. Before the cadet could get a good look at the person holding it – he didn't look very large, for one thing, but Ian wasn't sure if he was young or small – Jaffer attacked, more than ready to show the small person (be he young or just small) just how foolish it was to threaten someone he was responsible for.

With a snarl that was truly menacing – and well-practiced – Jaffer launched himself at the figure, dodging the pointed end of the spear as it was jabbed at him and then leaping on the wielder, using his considerable weight to knock them both backwards and to the ground. There was a cry of fear and then an agonized screech.

"Jaffer! Down!"

Ian rushed for the scuffling pair, and at the same time caught a movement of blonde from the other direction as Jack (the dog) came running in, followed closely by Teal'c, Jack and Daniel.

The black lab obeyed Ian instantly – he hadn't really been aiming for a kill, anyways. Not with someone smaller than adult sized who hadn't done anything more than shouted at them and pointed a stick at them. He'd simply gone in for the disarming factor – and the fear factor – and both had worked. The spear was on the ground several feet away, and the person who was pinned under his front paws was sobbing breathlessly. Once he made sure Ian had his gun pointed at his captive, Jaffer stepped back, still growling to remind the person to stay put.

As soon as the bog black lab was out of the way, though, Ian could see immediately that that wasn't going to be an issue. And as they came to a stop beside him, Jack, Daniel and Teal'c noticed it as well.

"Ouch." Daniel said, softly.

The boy – for it was clearly a young boy now that they had a good look at him – had stepped into one of the gopher holes (or whatever they were) when Jaffer had jumped on him, and when he'd fallen back it had snapped his leg bone. He wasn't going anywhere.


	5. 05

"Don't let it eat me!"

Daniel's jaw dropped. Not because the boy thought Jaffer was capable of eating him – the lab certainly looked vicious enough to the untrained eye – but because the boy spoke perfect English. Understandable English. And not just English, but _English_. Like any Brit might. Queen's English, some would say. It was the first time he'd ever heard the accent offworld – at least, coming from an indigenous person.

"Jaffer," Jack wasn't nearly as surprised as Daniel. "Move back a bit."

The lab did as he was told, moving back several steps to stand next to Jack (the dog) but his eyes were on the boy – just like everyone else's.

He wasn't much to look at. Scrawny – although not in an underfed sort of way – he was maybe 8 or 9, with a dirty, deeply tanned body clad only in what looked to Daniel like a loincloth of some sort, and a shock of dirty blonde hair.

"What happened?" Jack asked Ian.

The Cadet scowled.

"He jumped out at us."

"I did not."

Now that he wasn't going to be eaten, the boy managed to curb his pained sobs long enough to speak up, although tears were streaming down his cheeks, leaving trails in the dirt on his face.

"Yes, you did," Ian said. "And Jaffer went after him."

"Who are you?" Daniel asked, coming closer, now, and kneeling down, his eyes taking in the broken bone – which was clearly visible, even though it somehow had miraculously managed not to break the skin. The boy's foot was still in the hole, but the other one was covered by soft shoes that were made out of some kind of animal skin.

"Who are _you_?" He asked, obviously trying to put on a brave front.

"We asked first," Jack said.

The brave front didn't last long.

"Taylor."

"Why were you following me?" Ian asked.

"We need to get his leg taken care of," Daniel said, interrupting, and looking at Ian, expectantly.

Ian scowled.

"What?"

"Aren't you going to fix it?"

"No."

"Ian."

"What? _I_ didn't tell him to attack us. I sure as shit didn't tell him to follow us – and I'm not going to flatten myself taking care of it."

The boy had given Ian a start, and the Cadet wasn't feeling at all charitable towards him just then.

"But-"

"No."

"Jack."

"I'm not going to force him to if he doesn't want to."

What did Daniel expect him to do? Twist Ian's arm behind his back?

Daniel looked furious and sick at the same time.

"You guys don't understand. The people that live on this planet are _hunter/gatherers_! They have to be mobile. A bone this badly broken will never heal right – and even if it does heal, it'll take forever, and it'll-"

"Fine." Ian didn't need a lecture. "But someone will need to set it. I can't heal it if it's crooked."

Teal'c stepped forward, and Taylor blanched, fear warring with the pain.

"He's not going to hurt you," Daniel said, noting the look of terror.

"He's a Jaffa."

As if that said everything – and normally it did.

"He's a _friend_," Daniel said, trying to calm the boy, who was already going into shock from the injured leg. "You need to relax, Taylor."

"He's a _Jaffa_," the boy repeated, stubbornly, trying to move away from Teal'c and only succeeding in jarring his leg, making him cry out in pain.

Jack stepped in, then.

"Taylor, hold still and do what we say, or I'm going to let my dog eat you."

Jaffer gave a low growl right on cue, and the boy's attention was smoothly diverted to the lab, who was watching him more or less cheerfully – although Taylor didn't know the difference.

He swallowed, painfully, and nodded, too frightened to disobey. Or maybe he was just in too much pain to.

"Do you live close by?" Daniel asked the boy as Teal'c moved behind him and pulled him out of the hole carefully. Even though he was gentle, Taylor's face paled and he yelped when the injured leg was jarred again.

"Yessss…"

He hissed in pain when Daniel tried to straighten the leg a little, and Jack stepped up.

"I'll do it, Daniel."

The archeologist was being _too_ careful, and that was going to hurt more in the long run. Jack looked at the boy, wondering who'd let their little kid out alone in the woods to chase some strangers.

"This is going to hurt, but only for a minute. I promise."

The boy nodded, visibly bracing himself for whatever was to come, and Jack looked over his shoulder at Ian.

"Don't flatten yourself. Just do enough to fix the bone a bit so it'll heal. I don't want to have to tote you around. Understand?"

Ian nodded and knelt down next to Jack, his hand coming to rest on the thin leg. While he wasn't happy with the kid, he was starting to feel just a little bad about him hurting himself – although he still didn't think it was his fault. Or Jaffer's.

"Yeah."

"On the count of three," Jack told Taylor, taking hold of the leg where he was going to pull it to set the broken bone. "One. Two-"

He jerked the leg and the bone went cleanly back into position. At the same instance, Taylor screamed in agony and would have jerked away if not for the firm grip Teal'c had on him. As Jack had promised, however, the sharp pain only lasted a minute before it started to ease into a terrible throbbing.

As the boy watched in amazement, Ian closed his hand over the broken leg, and the bone started to knit itself together, along with the tendons that were supposed to support it. A minute later, the cadet leaned back, looking tired, but not exhausted.

"That's probably all I can do without knocking myself out…"

"Will it support his weight?" Daniel asked.

Ian shrugged.

"Probably not. Not for a couple of days, anyways – but it'll heal fast."

"We'll just brace it up," Jack said, reaching for the spear that had been lying to the side and snapping it in half. It made perfect poles for a splint. He handed the poles to Teal'c and moved so the Jaffa could take care of the boy.

"You okay?" He asked Ian.

"Yeah."

"Tired?"

"A little."

"Get something to eat while Teal'c's taking care of the kid, and let me know if you need a chance to rest."

"I'm okay." Ian smiled, looking over at the boy, who was watching Teal'c with mingled fear and surprise – obviously unable to believe that a Jaffa could be so careful. "_'Do what I say or I'll let my dog eat you_…?'"

Jack shrugged, unable to hide his own amusement.

"It worked, right?"

Ian just shook his head, and shrugged out of his pack to find something quick to snack on while they waited for Teal'c to finish.


	6. 06

Before Ian had finished eating the Power bars he'd pulled out of his pack, Teal'c was done splinting Taylor's leg. The Cadet stood by munching as Jack and Daniel started questioning the boy, who was obviously not in anywhere near as much pain as he had been – and didn't understand why.

"Where's your family?" Daniel asked. "Are they close by?"

Taylor's eyes were wary, and he cast a sidelong glance at Teal'c.

"No."

"We're not going to _hurt_ them," Jack said, catching the lie immediately – and understanding the reason behind it. "We just want to get you back where you belong."

"You can't make it on your own," Daniel said, reasonably. "Your leg isn't going to support your weight – not without hurting it again…"

Taylor was silent, obviously thinking that through, and the others waited, giving him a chance to decide whether to trust them – or to try and crawl his way home on his own. Which was assuming they weren't going to just hold him as hostage until he told them anyways. Brave as he was trying to be, he was still only a boy – and a young one at that – injured and in the middle of terrifying strangers. Ian was surprised he hadn't just gone crazy on them.

"They're around…" Taylor said, finally, wincing as he shifted his position on the ground.

"We'd like to talk to them," Daniel said, oozing sincerity. "To meet them."

Ian stuffed the last of the energy bar in his mouth, already tired of dealing with the kid.

"If we're taking a vote, I say we just leave him here."

Everyone looked over at him, including Taylor, who paled a little.

"We can't leave him here," Daniel said. "He'll die."

Ian shrugged.

"Someone will probably find him – if he yells loud enough."

"Or some_thing_," Daniel said, frowning. "He's not going-"

"We have things to do, Daniel," Ian said. "He's not going to tell us anything – and he obviously doesn't want to get back with his folks. Let's just get going."

"But-"

"Don't leave me alone…"

Taylor had heard enough, and definitely didn't want to be left alone – not even when the alternative was to go with these strangers.

"We _won't_ leave you alone," Daniel said, scowling at Ian, who shrugged, completely unconcerned that Daniel was mad at him.

"Let's go," Jack said, motioning for Daniel to help the kid to his feet. "Can you walk? Or do you want us to carry-"

"I can walk."

He paled, though; when the foot of his broken leg touched the ground, and it was plain he would have brought it off the ground if not for the fact that it was splinted and awkward. Daniel brought his arm around the boy to take a bit of his weight, and Jack prudently relieved the archeologist of his P90, unwilling to keep the weapon that close to a stranger.

"Which direction?" Jack asked, handing Daniel's gun to Ian, who attached it to the pack he'd slung over his shoulder.

Taylor looked around to get his bearings, and then pointed toward the sun.

"That way. We'll find scouts…"

"Scouts?" Daniel asked.

"They guard our village."

"I thought you were hunter/gatherers," Jack said as he gestured for Teal'c to take point with Jack (the dog).

"What's a hunter/gatherer?"

"It's a group of people who don't settle in any one place," Daniel answered as they started walking, the boy limping painfully on his leg, even with Daniel's support. "Instead they gather what they need from the land, and hunt for food."

"We do all that," Taylor said. "We just do it from the village…"

"So much for them being nomads…" Ian said, softly as he and Jack fell back to take rear guard.

Jack nodded, and looked over at Ian.

"Good job, by the way."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean threatening to leave him in order to get him to bring us with him."

Ian looked at him blankly, and Jack frowned.

"You were serious about leaving him?"

Oh, he wanted to say that, yes, he had been, but Ian sighed, and shrugged.

"I don't know. I just didn't feel like putting up with the suspicious looks any more. Besides, we didn't really have to bring him along. We probably could have found these people on our own, right?" Especially with help from Jaffer and Jack (the dog).

"But now they owe us for bringing their boy home," Jack said. "So they might open up a bit and be willing to tell us about Daniel's rocks instead of being automatically wary of us."

"Oh."

"Besides, now we don't _have_ to hunt for them. And that'll save us time."

Ian nodded, but didn't say anything. He knew Jack wanted to get done and get back home as quickly and safely as possible, and he didn't blame him.

Jack looked at the boy and then back at Ian.

"This little kid will probably get our foot in the door."

"Yippee."

Jack smiled.

"You don't like him."

"I didn't say that."

"You healed him."

"To shut Daniel up."

"No other reason?"

"Nope."

But Jack could tell he was lying, now.

"Why don't you go give them a hand? He looks like he's not going to make it much further if he has to try and hobble on that leg…"

Ian scowled, but he didn't argue about it – although he wanted to. Instead, he stepped up and put a hand under the boy's right armpit, supporting most of the weight on the right side – hardly a chore since Taylor weighed very little. The boy glanced at Ian, and started to say something, but fell silent when he saw the annoyed look in the Cadet's expression, and Jack just grinned.

They'd have to work on Ian's people skills – and maybe they could start with how he related to children. It was something to think about, anyways.


	7. 07

_Author's note: Just a quick look inside Ian's head for those of you who were wondering (if anyone is). Remember, Ian doesn't relate all that well to kids. He doesn't get along with them – as seen in the Thanksgiving story – and Taylor gave him a scare (whether he'll admit it or not) so he's pretty much holding a grudge._

OOOOOOOOOOO

Daniel managed to hold in his curiosity for all of a half-mile or so before he finally started asking Taylor questions.

"How far away is your village?"

"Not far."

Taylor was hurting and pale and even with help from both sides, he was struggling – but trying to hide it. He definitely didn't feel like talking. He needed all his breath for walking.

"What do they call themselves?" Daniel asked.

"What?"

"What name do they go by?"

"My mom and dad?"

Daniel shook his head, noticing that the boy seemed to be struggling and taking more of his weight off his leg with each step.

"No. Your _people_. How do they call themselves?"

"We call ourselves the Brish."

"British?"

It could have been the accent, but Daniel's mind heard British, not Brish. Ian caught it, though, and shook his head.

"He said _Brish_, Daniel, not British."

"We are you from?" Daniel asked, ignoring Ian.

"My village."

"No, I mean your _people_."

"They're from my village, too."

Ian snorted.

"He's a little _kid_, Daniel. He doesn't have a clue what you're asking him."

Taylor looked over at Ian – who, admittedly, frightened him a little. And for good reason, since he seemed to care even less for him than the Jaffa did - which was saying something.

"What is he asking?"

"He wants to know if your people lived somewhere else before they lived where they're living now. Like in another place – before they moved to their village."

"Oh." The boy shrugged – which was difficult to do with hands under his armpits supporting him. "I don't know."

Of course he didn't, Daniel thought to himself. As Ian had said, he was just a little kid. They'd need to ask someone a bit older – someone who might know. Because Daniel was definitely curious about Taylor's people and where they had originated.

They fell silent again, mainly because Daniel could tell that Taylor was hurting and didn't want to talk. He offered to carry him several times, but the boy shook his head stubbornly, saying he could walk. It was probably a matter of pride, Daniel decided. The boy had already been captured by the enemy (or whatever he perceived SG-1 to be) and to be carried home by them was more than he could take. Even if it meant walking on a leg that had to be killing him – even _with_ the healing Ian had done.

OOOOOOOO

The dogs were their first warning. Jack (the dog) who had been walking just a little ahead of Teal'c – who had point – gave a low warning growl. Teal'c stopped immediately, watching the big yellow lab, who had his head down and one front foot cocked as he stared into the brush ahead of them. The Jaffa brought his staff weapon up, pressing the button that armed the device, although he wasn't going to fire until he knew who and what he was firing at.

Jaffer, who had been walking beside Jack in the rear, also growled, although his head swung towards their left, where he watched some heavy bushes intently. Jack's P90 came up immediately and Teal'c and he closed ranks on Ian and Daniel and their guest quickly, not wanting to get separated.

Since Ian had Daniel's P90 slung over his shoulder, the archeologist wasn't in a position to be of much use in a firefight. He had his sidearm, but it was an awkward angle with Taylor's weight against that arm – especially since Ian had let go of the boy as soon as Jack (the dog) had stopped ahead of him, and had brought his own P90 to bear. Someone was in the bushes and trees around them, but if they'd hoped for an ambush, they might as well hope that it'd start raining pretzels. They hadn't been spotted, but they weren't going to be able to surprise anyone.

As if they had figured that out as well, there was a rustle in the heavy brush to the left, and a single man stepped out into the small area they'd been walking in. He was tall, tanned, and was dressed similarly to Taylor – which was to say all that he was wearing was a simple loincloth. His hair was as dark as Ian's, but his eyes were a pale blue – and he was holding a bow, with an arrow notched and pointed directly at Daniel.

"Release the boy."

His voice was deep, and he, too, had that same accent.

Jack's P90 turned on the man, and Jaffer's low growl carried easily across the short distance.

"Drop that…" Jack said.

The man's eyes darted from Jack to Jaffer, and back to Daniel and Taylor. Then rested on Teal'c and Jack (the dog).

"Who is your master, Jaffa?" He asked. "Which system lord has-"

"I have no master," Teal'c replied.

"You lie."

Teal'c's staff weapon turned on the man.

"Easy, Teal'c," Jack said. As much as he wanted this stalemate to end, he didn't want it to end with an arrow sticking out of any part of Daniel.

"Let the boy go," the man repeated.

"Drop that bow," Jack said – again. "We can talk about this. We don't want to hurt anyone."

"You're with a Jaffa." Again the suspicious eyes rested on Teal'c.

"He's not what you think he is."

The suspicion didn't fade – it didn't even waver – but the bow was brought to bear on O'Neill, as if the man realized that he, and not the Jaffa, was the one in charge. Jaffer's growl deepened at the change and the lab crouched, just waiting for an opportunity. He was more than willing to teach this man why one didn't point a weapon at Jack O'Neill.

"Jaffer, down." Jack didn't want the lab hurt by a stray arrow – any more than he wanted Daniel to be. He raised the P90 a little more, pointing it at the man's chest, now. "Don't make me kill you."

In response, the bushes all around them rustled, and more people emerged. All of them armed with either bows or with spears. Twelve in all, and every weapon pointed at one of the members of SG-1.


	8. 08

_Author's note: Sorry about the wait on this chapter... injuries have plagued me the last day and a half!_

OOOOOOOO

Well, things were definitely looking bad, now, weren't they? Jack hated standoffs – especially when he was in the middle of them. Before he could say anything, though – which might or might not have diffused the situation – the first man spoke up again.

"Drop your weapons and release the boy."

"That's not going to happen," Jack said. He didn't mind so much _releasing_ the boy, but there was no way in hell he was going to drop his weapon.

"We're not here to cause trouble," Daniel said, speaking up. "We just wanted to talk…"

"So you steal my son?"

The statement was followed by a chagrined look – as if the man hadn't actually intended to let that out and it had slipped. Of course, Jack could understand that; now that they knew Taylor was the guy's son, they definitely had the advantage over him – if they'd intended to cause any trouble, anyways.

"We didn't _steal_ him," Daniel answered – before Jack could. "He was following us – and got hurt."

The man looked at his son, and Taylor flushed slightly, averting his eyes. Telling his father quite plainly that they were telling the truth. The weapon in the man's hands lowered perceptibly.

"Are you all right?"

The boy nodded.

"I fell."

"He broke his leg," Daniel said. "But it's better."

"Daniel…"

Jack didn't like that. These people didn't know _how_ it had gotten better, and Jack wanted to keep it that way. The last thing they wanted was to answer a lot of questions. Especially since they had questions of their own to be answered.

The archeologist looked over at him, but before he could say anything, the man spoke up again.

"Who are you?"

"We're peaceful explorers," Daniel said. "From a place called Earth."

"And the Jaffa?"

The looks at Teal'c were downright mistrustful – although Jack and the others were used to that.

"He's peaceful, too," Jack said. "He's a friend. An ally."

None of them looked all that convinced, but Taylor spoke up.

"He helped me…"

While the boy wasn't all that happy about being caught doing something that he wasn't supposed to have been doing in the first place, he did want to be released, and figured the best way to have that happen was to act as intermediate between the two groups. It was his fault that they had met, after all. And he _really_ wanted to get back to village and off his leg.

"What are you doing here?" The man asked, not completely reassured about the Jaffa, but willing to let that drop for a moment.

"We're explorers," Daniel repeated. "We're always looking for new people to meet, or new allies."

"Traders?" one of the others asked, looking at the packs on their backs.

Daniel shrugged.

"Perhaps. If there's anything we have that you could use. And if you have anything we could use. What we really want," he said, "is to find out about your people – and tell you about ours, if you're interested."

The group still looked suspicious, but the weapons had all been lowered – somewhat – and SG-1 no longer had any of their weapons pointed at the natives, either. Which helped a great deal. Of course, SG-1 had the dogs, which were _already_ pointed at the natives, so they didn't need weapons.

"We can discuss this." The man said, shrugging. "But I am not the only one to decide." He watched them for several long moments, obviously still making up his mind what to do about them. "Give me my son."

Daniel looked at Jack, who nodded. It would be an act of good faith to let him have his boy back. Besides, Jack didn't want to keep the kid, anyways.

Being closest to the two, Ian raised his P90 just a little to cover Daniel as the archeologist helped Taylor hobble over to his father, and the man slung his bow over his shoulder, the arrow that had been notched going into a quiver that was attached to his waist by some kind of leather cord. He reached out and took Taylor from Daniel, taking his son's weight and quickly checking him for any signs of abuse. Aside from the splinted leg, however, there was none.

"We'll take you to the village," he decided, scooping his son up into his arms. He was a fairly lean guy, but was obviously stronger than he looked, because he held the boy easily, splint and all. A gesture with his chin divided his group of warriors neatly. Half of them ranged on ahead, with a couple of them running off – to warn of their approach – and the other half coming over to stand somewhat to the rear of the group.

Jack scowled, but didn't say anything. He could understand why they weren't greeting them with open arms and a welcome wagon – if things were reversed, he'd have been a lot worse. Especially if it had been Jake or Shawn in the enemy's hands. Besides, he wasn't worried. These guys didn't seem to have anything worse than bows and spears – which they weren't actually pointing at them. If they proved to be devious, SG-1 would be able to fight their way out – and Daniel could just try to figure out his burning rocks on his own. Or with Ian and Sam to help him.

"Lead on," he said, trying to look as friendly as he could. Which wasn't all that easy considering the great big walking tooth factory he had standing at his side.

The man nodded, and the group started walking – the same direction that Taylor had been taking SG-1 in the first place, which proved that the boy hadn't been leading them on a wild goose chase. Daniel fell into step beside the man, while Teal'c moved back to walk on Jack's left – with Jack (the dog) on his left – while Ian moved back to walk on Jack's right, the Cadet watching everything that was going on around him cautiously.

"What do we call you?" Daniel asked Taylor's father. "I'm Daniel Jackson. You can call me Daniel."

"My name is Braxton."

"_Braxton_?"

"Yes." He looked back at the others, who understood that he was asking for their names, as well.

"I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill," Jack said, answering for all of them. "This is Ian Brooks, and Teal'c."

He caught Daniel's gaze for just a minute, and knew Daniel was thinking the same thing he was.

When had they ever met an alien with a British accent named Braxton? This group was far more interesting than they'd assumed they would be – and even Jack was intrigued.


	9. 09

"Braxton…" Daniel hesitated, even as he walked beside the man who was carrying his son. They had been walking for almost twenty minutes, and the man was showing far more endurance than Daniel had expected. Taylor was small and didn't weigh all that much, true, but carrying the boy for so long – even though the men in front of them were moving branches and brush out of the way as they approached – couldn't be all that easy, Daniel was certain. But when the man turned to look at Daniel, he was barely even sweating.

"Yes?"

He wasn't panting andout of breath, either.

"Have your people _always_ lived here…?"

"What do you mean?"

Daniel hesitated again, unsure how much he could get away with asking just then. It wasn't like they were on that great of speaking terms, after all.

"I mean… in our travels, we've found civilizations of people who had originally been from other places – only they were transplanted from their original home worlds to other places…"

"By the Goa'uld?"

Taylor was watching Daniel with sleepy eyes. The boy had been lulled into a doze as he'd been carried, but when his father had spoken up in response to Daniel's initial question, it had drawn him out of that doze. Now his cheek was resting against Braxton's shoulder, but his attention was on Daniel.

Daniel nodded.

"For the most part. As near as we can tell, anyways. Some moved of their own volition – or were moved by more advanced beings if their worlds were threatened."

"You wish to know if we are one of those peoples…?"

Daniel nodded, again. The question might have been considered extremely impertinent – rude, even – since no one ever wanted to admit that their people had been under the thumb of any other race of beings. And that was assuming that the people even knew about it, for that matter. Daniel wouldn't have been surprised to hear Braxton say his people had always been there. Whether they actually knew that for sure or not. But since Braxton had understood immediately what he was asking, and didn't seem to be offended by the question, Daniel decided to risk it. It was as good a beginning as any, after all – and he was curious.

"Yes."

"I've never heard anything to say that we are…" Braxton shrugged, which wasn't all that easy with Taylor in his arms. "But then, there are some odd carvings on some ruined walls and there's a cave…"

"A cave?"

The man nodded.

"It's a dangerous place – It has caved in more than once – but I've _seen_ it, and the carvings there. Although they make no sense."

"What do you know of the Goa'uld?"

"I think you should speak with the council, Daniel," Braxton said, suddenly breaking off the questioning. "I'm not an historian, and not much of a storyteller."

Daniel felt a pang of annoyance – just when he was getting close to learning something! – but he didn't have much choice but to agree, and they fell silent once more as they walked. And now Taylor rested his chin on his father's shoulder, looking behind him as the group walked; using his father's long hair to conceal the fact that he was watching Ian carefully.

OOOOOOOOOOO

After several hours of walking – and just about the time Jack was getting ready to ask their guides if they actually had _any_ idea where they were going – they finally came upon the edges of a clearing. The first thing they noticed was the sound of people. Not necessarily a bunch of people _chattering_, just the sound that a large population of people make when they are going about their own daily routines. The sound of people working on various domestic tasks, the noise of carefree children running around playing games that only they understood, and the low murmur of conversations from people who don't appear to have a care in the world.

A few minutes later, they got their first view of the village, and it was about as odd as any that Jack had seen in all his missions. And made Daniel's heart beat faster. The houses were made of stone, with thatched roofs, which didn't make them so odd. The thing that did was that they weren't the only structures in the village. Strewn amongst them were odd-looking buildings that were built of what looked to be nothing more than dirt mounds. Daniel had seen both types of structures – but never together. Before he could say anything, though, the murmur they'd heard coming from the various activities all came to a halt as the villagers spotted them.

Several women gathered up children and hustled them into the various buildings, while most of the men reached for weapons – mostly spears and bows – that were close at hand. A group of men moved to intercept their party while others took up defensive positions near those buildings the children and many of the women had vanished into. These men were dressed in leather clothing; dressed like _Indians_, really, Ian thought, complete with moccasins, leggings and loincloths – although their chests were bare.

"Not a trusting lot, are they?" Ian observed softly to Jack.

"I don't blame them," Jack answered. _He_ wouldn't have been any different.

They fell silent and came to a stop at the edge of the village, where Braxton and his group circled them – either to make sure they weren't going to do anything foolish, or to keep the villagers from doing something equally foolish out of fear. And it was obvious that there was some fear in the expressions of several of the men that came out to greet them. Especially when they looked at Teal'c and instantly knew him for what he was.

A man stepped away from the others as Braxton stepped forward to greet him. Taylor's father had long since handed his son off to be carried by the others as they'd walked – no one was strong enough to carry him such a distance, except Teal'c, who they'd never have dreamed of asking – so his hands were free to take the man's hand.

"What have you _done_, Braxton?" The man asked, staring at Teal'c, and then the others, only to look back at Teal'c once more. "The Jaffa-"

"Is allied to these others, Richard," Braxton said, quickly, pointing at Jack, Daniel and Ian. "He is not a threat to us, I deem. They are explorers."

"So they _say_," Richard said, looking at Jack as if he had already picked him out as the leader – even though Teal'c may have been a more obvious choice.

Jack shrugged.

"We're not looking for trouble."

"Taylor injured himself following them and they helped him," Braxton said. "They could have just as easily harmed him, or held him against his will."

The man looked over at the boy, who was in the arms of one of the other men in the scouting party. He could see the splint on his leg, and there was no doubt the boy was injured.

"Perhaps _they_ are the ones who injured him."

"Taylor says not."

"Or they told him to say that."

Jack scowled.

"We don't _hurt_ kids."

Equally annoyed – although for a completely different reason – Ian spoke up, as well.

"The little fucker was following me and fell in a hole."

"We simply helped him," Daniel said, quickly, taking the attention off Ian – since it was obvious none of them knew what a _fucker_ was, and were trying to figure out if they had been insulted or not. "And then offered to help him get back home. What we told Braxton is the truth. We're explorers. _Peaceful_ explorers. We don't want any trouble. We just want to learn more about your people – and tell you about our own, if you're interested."

Richard looked at Daniel, obviously judging his words and actions against whatever he knew of the Jaffa. He finally relaxed, marginally, and nodded.

"We will discus this."

He turned, and walked back into the crowd of men, all of who moved to let him by and then followed him, and a moment later Braxton motioned for SG-1 to follow as well.

"Smooth, Ian…" Daniel said, softly as they walked towards the largest of the dirt piles, which had an opening in it the size of a small door and a hide covering that was pulled to the side with some kind of thong.

"What did I do?"

Jack shook his head, and ducked his head to enter the structure, Jaffer still walking beside him.

Yeah, they needed to work on those people skills.


	10. 10

The interior of the mud house was dimly illuminated but a lot larger than Ian would have thought it to be from looking at it from the outside. There was a fire pit right in the middle of the room, and a hole in the top. Ian hadn't noticed any smoke coming from the hole when they'd been outside the mud building, and when he thought back on it, he realized that there hadn't been, although there was definitely a fire burning in the fire pit. There was little to no smoke, and he decided it must be the wood they were burning. And wondered if they did that on purpose, or if it just happened to be the nature of the wood in the area.

The floor was solidly packed dirt – almost as hard as concrete – and there were several woven mats on the floor, which the men who had entered the building before them sank down onto. SG-1 was guided to a spot near the fire, and four more mats were brought in for them to sit on. They shrugged out of their packs, which were set near the entrance, and then sat down, still prudently holding their weapons – although none of them were pointed at anyone, and all the safeties were on. Jack sat down next to Ian with Jaffer in between them, and when Daniel and Teal'c sat down, Jack (the dog) placed himself between the Jaffa and the archeologist.

"You have walked quite a distance," Richard told them as he came over and sat as well, facing them along with the others. "They are bringing refreshments now, and when you have slaked your thirst, we will discuss your-"

He was interrupted by the arrival of a couple of women and one man. All were dressed in the same leather clothing as the first people; only the women wore dresses that were intricately decorated with all sorts of colorful designs. All three were carrying wooden trays with neatly carved wooden cups that held some kind of liquid in them. They served SG-1 first and then served the seated men, and Ian looked down in his cup, trying to decide what it was they were going to be drinking. It didn't look like water, although he couldn't be sure because the wooden cup discolored whatever it was.

The men sitting with Richard watched SG-1 expectantly, and not surprisingly, Daniel was the first to take a sip. As the others watched, he drained his cup, and nodded.

"It's good. What is it?"

"Berry juice," one of the women answered, smiling at the compliment. She might have been the one serving them, but Daniel could tell by her demeanor that she was far from subservient. "Would you like more?"

"Please."

Ian cautiously took a sip of his own, and was surprised to find that he liked it, too. He wasn't usually much for juice, after all. Well, orange juice, maybe. Mixed with Mountain Dew.

Richard was looking at him expectantly, and he nodded as well.

"It _is_ good."

Richard smiled, satisfied that the refreshments were acceptable to their guests, and then drank down his own. While they were drinking, the other woman handed out warm rolls, which Ian was really happy to see. He wasn't completely wiped out from what he'd done for Taylor, but he was hungry, and the energy bars he'd eaten had been too long ago.

"Thank you."

See? He had manners.

He bit into his roll, found that it had some kind of meat baked into it – and was delicious, and wolfed it down fairly quickly. He must have looked as hungry as he actually was, because the woman finished serving the others and then handed him several more of the rolls with an amused smile – similar to one that his own mother would have worn had she been the one to watch him eating.

Jack snacked on his roll as well, and watched in amusement as Jaffer used his mournful brown eyes to convince the woman that he, too, was hungry and really needed one of those. The lab wasn't on the offensive, now that he was pretty sure these people weren't going to try anything dumb – and Jack himself was fairly relaxed – so Jaffer was his usual flirtatious self, and that, too, helped to relax those around him. The woman handed him and Jack (the dog) both a roll, and then left with the others, leaving Richard and the men facing SG-1 across the small fire.

"Why would explorers be interested in my people?" He asked. It wasn't a challenge, simply a question.

Daniel smiled.

"We're interested in all new people."

"You are related to those who were observed walking through the forests a few days ago?" One of the others asked.

"We know them," Jack said. "We're not related, though. Just from the same place."

"They didn't say anything about a village, though," Daniel said. "From what they saw, we were under the impression that your people were hunter/gatherers. Nomads, so to speak."

"We have always lived in villages."

"Have you always lived here?"

"As long as I have been alive we have."

"Before that we lived in another village, many days walk to the north," another man said. This one was much older. "I was a boy when we came here. It has been many, many years."

"Why did you move?" Daniel asked, curiously.

"I don't know – I'm not sure I ever _did_ know."

"What do you remember about it?"

The old man shrugged.

"Just that we walked a lot."

"Maybe they just needed a change of scenery," Jack suggested.

"Maybe…"

Daniel wasn't all that convinced. In his experiences, when people found a place to settle – a _good_ place – they tended to stay there.

"Have your people always lived on this planet?" Teal'c asked, speaking up for the first time.

Richard looked at the Jaffa, hesitated, and then shrugged.

"I don't know."

"No."

This was the old man, again. Richard scowled and looked over at him.

"You don't know for sure."

"The pictures on the walls of the cave-"

"They're from long ago," Richard said, sounding annoyed. It was almost as if they were continuing an argument that they'd had many times.

"They might be from our past," the old man said, defensively.

"They're probably from another race of people," Richard replied.

"Braxton mentioned a cave as well," Daniel said, wanting to cut off the argument before it could really begin. "What is it?"

Both men stared at him.

"You don't know what a _cave_ is?"

Ian snorted, almost choking on his roll.

"I know what one is," Daniel said, shooting an annoyed look at Ian, who was clearly enjoying himself. "But what is so special about this one? Why is it-"

"It has carvings on the walls," the old man said, interrupting Daniel. "Carvings that have always been there, and show some of the most amazing things…"

"Like what?"

Now Daniel was intrigued, but the old man simply shrugged.

"I can't describe it."

"They're strange," Richard agreed.

"Can you show us?"

"How far away is this cave?" Jack asked. They only had so long before they needed to check in, after all, and he really wasn't looking forward to any extended stay if they could avoid it.

"Not too far. However, I'm not sure that we should take you there. It's not safe. The walls are very old and the ceiling has caved in in some spots…"

"We'll be careful," Daniel promised. "I'd really like to see it."

Richard looked at the other men sitting with him, as if to ask them what they thought, but none of them said anything – for, or against – and he shrugged.

"In the morning, then. For tonight; you can be our guests, and I will find you a couple of guides to show you the way."

"Great!"

The others met the statement with a little less excitement, but they didn't say anything. They had 48 hours, after all, and it wasn't even half over, yet.


	11. 11

The sun had been starting to sink in the sky when they'd entered the building, and when they left it in the company of Richard and the old man – whose name turned out to be Thomas – it was almost down completely. The village was well lit by fires, however, and in the light of these Ian could see that the children had been allowed to come back outside. Apparently the Brish had decided that their children would be safe with the strangers in their midst, although the children themselves shrank back fearfully when they saw Teal'c.

It was Jaffer and Jack (the dog) who brought them back; the labs were clearly in a good mood and anxious to play since they had correctly decided that they were done working for the day, and Jaffer nuzzled Jack's hand, expectantly, telling him plainly what he wanted.

The colonel looked down at the lab and then over at the children, who had bunched up into a group of about twenty kids, ranging from four or five to probably ten or eleven. Taylor was absent, but aside from infants and toddlers he was probably the only one who was.

Jack looked over at Ian, deciding he'd give him a little more opportunity to deal with offworlders – including children.

"Why don't you take Jaffer and Jack off to work off some energy while we get set up for the night?"

Ian scowled. He wasn't stupid, and knew that the minute he went with the dogs all the little fucking kids were going to follow him. And sure as shit they'd want to play or something. And he didn't see a baseball or a football in sight. Who knew what the little savages played with? Probably dead goats or something, like those kids in India or the Middle East, or wherever it was. The problem was, he also knew Jack had pretty much given him an order, even though he'd made it sound like a request. He could argue, but it wouldn't do much good.

Jack (the dog) barked his agreement of the idea, causing most of the kids to jump back a step or two – and several of them to run back towards anxious mothers, who had been watching the strangers. Only the fact that Jaffer and Jack (the dog) were both wagging their tails and looking incredibly friendly and cheerful kept all of the kids from screaming and running away. A few of the older – and braver – ones actually stepped forward a pace or two once they got over the initial fear.

"Okay."

Ian dug into the supply pack that Teal'c had been carrying and pulled out a very ratty chew toy. Shaped like mailman it bore the signs of countless abuses and just happened to be Jack's (the dog) favorite toy. Which meant that Jaffer would do anything to get it from him. Which meant that Ian wouldn't have to do all that much running around if he played his cards right.

He walked off to a small clearing that was on the edge of the village – one that looked like it might be used for outside meetings or maybe some kind of activities – and Jaffer and Jack followed him eagerly, both watching the toy in his hand. With a heave, Ian flung the toy away and the labs were off like a shot after it. Jack, being faster than Jaffer, reached it first and scooped it up, and the chase was on.

As Ian stood on the sidelines and watched them, the dogs raced each other in circles, every now and then tumbling into a heap as one would knock the other down and try to steal the toy. After ten minutes or so, Ian was aware that he wasn't alone, and glanced down. Sure enough, most of the little kids were standing near him, all watching the dogs playing with each other.

"What are they?" One asked him, watching the dogs.

"What are you, retarded?" Ian asked.

The little boy shrugged.

"What's retarded mean?"

Ian sighed.

"They're _dogs_. Labs, to be exact."

"Dogs?"

"Yeah."

"Do they eat people?"

Oh how he _wanted_ to say yes! But he knew better, and Ian shook his head.

"They're friendly enough. As long as you don't try to hurt them – or someone they like."

"Are they fighting?" Another child asked.

"No, they're playing." Ian looked down at the kids, and saw that all eyes were still on the dogs. Big brown eyes, and big blue eyes, and even some big green eyes. And he sighed again. Stupid kids. "Jaffer. Jack."

The labs immediately stopped their headlong sprint, and looked over at Ian, who gestured for them to come over to him. The children all stepped back a pace or two as the dogs approached.

"Don't worry," Ian said. "They're not going to hurt you. Just hold your hands out to them, so they can sniff you."

The kids did as he told them, and Jack and Jaffer immediately started sniffing hands, more than willing to make friends with the youngsters. Enchanted with the soft whiskers that were tickling their hands, the kids all broke into excited laughter or smiles, or chatter.

"They like me."

"They like me more."

"They do not."

"Yes, they do."

"They like _girls_ better than boys."

"No, they don't."

"Yes, they do."

Ian sighed, and looked over towards the area he'd last seen SG-1. Jack was going to pay _so_ big time for this one…

OOOOOOO

"You may use this lodge for the evening, if you wish," Richard told Jack and the others, pointing towards another small mud building. "It is one of the places we store provisions for the winter months, and we're not using it just now."

Jack looked over at the others to see if they had any problem with that. The people seemed friendly enough, and it would be better to use the lodge than to set up tents out in the forest – probably. Of course, then they'd be stuck where they were, but these people didn't seem to have anything that SG-1 couldn't handle if they ended up turning out to be hostile. Daniel nodded, and Teal'c simply shrugged. He didn't care where they slept. Jack (the dog) would warn him if anything untoward was happening – and that was assuming that Teal'c himself wouldn't wake up long before something could.

"We accept," Jack said to Richard. "Thank you."

"Diner is a community affair," the man told them. "We usually just all come together and get the food, and then if someone doesn't feel like eating with the others, they take their dinner with them back to their lodge. You are welcomed to share what we have, and welcomed to join us in our meal instead of eating alone."

"Thank you," Daniel said, before Jack could say anything. "We accept that, too."

Richard smiled, and pointed to one of the larger fires, that had several people around it, blocking whatever they were doing.

"That is the cook fire. We will come get you when it's ready, or you may come and join us when you desire."

With that, he left them alone to check out their lodging, and probably tell the others that they would have company for dinner. Daniel was pretty sure that no one would be eating in their lodges tonight.

"Do you know how weird it is to hear someone talking like him…?" Jack said, softly as the lodge. "English accents and real language skills… it's nuts."

Daniel nodded his agreement.

"It certainly is interesting, isn't it? I can't wait to see this cave of theirs…"

"Why do I get the feeling you're already thinking of possibilities?"

"Because I am."

"So…?"

Daniel shrugged, dropping his pack.

"It's too early to tell you, Jack. Let me wait and get a look at the cave, first. Then I'll tell you what I think."

Jack didn't even bother to ask again. He was curious, but not enough to bug Daniel about it. He dropped his pack and walked back outside. It wasn't dark yet, but the light was definitely fading now, and he looked over to where Ian was surrounded by a bunch of kids – all of whom were shouting and laughing, and were petting Jaffer and Jack.

"Think we should go rescue him?" Daniel asked, coming up beside him.

"Nah, he's probably having the time of his life. Let's go see what's for dinner."


	12. 12

It was exactly 23 minutes before parents started calling for their kids to come eat. Ian knew, because he'd been watching the time carefully. He'd already figured that he was going to go back half an hour after taking the dogs out, whether Jack or someone else came for him or not. When the first kid left, grudgingly parting herself from the dogs (who had been wrestling with each other and the braver of the children) Ian reined the dogs in, calling them off the kids, and headed back towards the village as well. With all the kids who were left following them.

"Did you have fun?" Jack asked as Ian met them outside the lodge they were going to use, his expression innocent but his eyes alive with laughter.

"The time of my life," Ian said sarcastically, ducking into the lodge to check it out – and to avoid the kids – while Jaffer and Jack sauntered over to Jack and Teal'c to say hi.

"Dinner's in a few minutes." Jack told him, his hands playfully tugging on Jaffer's ears.

"Good."

"We're eating with the villagers."

Joy.

Ian looked around the inside of the lodge, but it wasn't all that interesting. There were four odd-looking mats – probably for them to sleep on, he decided – and their packs and equipment. That was about it. Someone had put his pack and his P90 next to one of the mats, so he went over and flopped down on it. He was a bit tired – not so much from the hike to the village, since that hadn't been so bad – but he had used some energy healing that Taylor kid, and out of sorts from being stuck playing referee to a bunch of little kids he didn't even know. All in all, it wasn't something that made him feel up to eating with a group of strangers – although he knew that was part of his duties as a member of SG-1. Mingling with the natives, so to speak.

"You okay?" Daniel asked, coming over and looking down at him.

"Yeah."

"We could probably bring you a plate if-"

"Nah, I'll come eat. I just need a break for a minute."

Jack walked over as well, and Jaffer snuffled Ian's neck as he joined them.

"Kids wore you out?"

"Nah."

"You look tired."

"I'm fine."

As if to prove it, Ian levered himself to his feet.

"Let's go."

OOOOOOOOO

They left their P90s with their packs in the lodge, and left Jaffer and Jack (the dog) to guard them. Not so much that Jack was worried about the villagers sneaking in and going through their stuff – although that was, of course, a possibility – he was more concerned that some kid might get nosy and come looking around, and Jack would never risk a weapon with a little kid again.

Jaffer and Jack (the dog) didn't look all that pleased to miss dinner, but they accepted their duty the same way Ian had. Grudgingly.

SG-1 was greeted with smiles of welcome when they came to the main cooking fire, and were led over to four of the woven mats that seemed to be everywhere. There weren't any chairs or other furnishings, just those mats, but it was better than sitting directly in the dirt.

"Are you settled?" Richard asked as he walked over, leading a small group of the others who were all carrying plates made of wood and covered with broad leaves – which were, in turn, covered with steaming meat, and something that looked a lot like mashed potatoes. A couple others were carrying cups and a pitcher – presumably with more of the berry juice in it.

Jack nodded.

"We are. Thank you."

"Will you join us for our meal?"

"We'd be honored."

See? Jack could be a diplomat when he tried.

At his agreement, the others came forward and served them, handing each of them a plate and cup and filling the cup with juice.

"We didn't know if you wanted something different to drink," Richard said, watching as they were being served. "If you prefer, we can get you something stronger."

"This is fine," Jack assured him. "Thank you."

As they were being served, others came over, sitting on mats that were close by in no apparent order. The people mingled with each other as easily as they did with the newcomers – although there was a fair-sized distance between Teal'c and any of them. Not that any of the members of SG-1 (including Teal'c) blamed them.

A scattering of children sat down close by as well, gravitating towards Ian, much to Jack's amusement. Among them was Taylor, who was sporting an odd-looking brace on his leg that was holding it straight. The little boy gave Ian and the others a shy smile, and with the help of his father and a young woman who looked so much like him that she had to be his mother, he sat down on a mat beside the cadet, who belatedly wished he'd sat between Jack and Daniel – or even better, next to Teal'c, who was being avoided.

"Hi."

Ian sighed – inwardly – but nodded a greeting to the boy.

"Hello."

"My leg feels much better."

"Good."

The woman gave Ian an odd look, but then a slight smile as she left to go get her son some dinner. Braxton sat down on the other side of the boy, already holding a plate.

"Taylor says that you healed his leg…" Braxton said, looking over Taylor at Ian.

Ian looked over at Jack, uncertain what he was supposed to say to that. He wasn't sure that it was such a good idea for these folks to know what he was capable of, and wasn't sure what Jack wanted him to do. Jack spoke up, giving Braxton a smile, and silently glad that Ian had enough common sense not to say anything.

"Young children tend to exaggerate sometimes," he said. "It wasn't as bad as it could have been, and probably just _felt_ like it was being healed."

"But I felt it-"

"Tell me more about this cave, Braxton," Daniel said, interrupting Taylor before he could object further. "You say you've been there?"

The man nodded, more than willing to change the subject if the offworlders were uncomfortable discussing the healing of his son.

"Yes. I've been in it."

"You've seen the carvings that are there?"

"Yes."

"Do you remember what any of them looked like?"

"There are many of them, Daniel," Braxton told him. "All over the walls."

"Pictures?"

He shrugged.

"Some of them. Maybe."

Jack frowned. That wasn't much help. Daniel, however, was used to not having much to start with. And he was far more adept – and patient – when it came to coaxing information out of someone who didn't even know they _had_ the information in the first place.

"Do you think you could draw some of them?"

Braxton looked uncertain, but Taylor was looking up at him, hopefully. The little boy hadn't been to this cave, and knew he wasn't going to be allowed any time soon, since they had been told they were dangerous, but he was hoping for some kind of hint to what was there – just as Daniel was.

Seeing his son's expression, Braxton shrugged, and wiped one hand off on his leather leggings. Then he reached down, and in the dirt in front of him, he hesitantly drew a symbol. He looked at it, and then drew another. Then looked over at Daniel, who had been watching.

"My God…"

Daniel's tone drew Jack's attention from his meal, and Ian and the Colonel both looked over. On the ground in front of Braxton were three letters.

_HMS_


	13. 13

_Author's Note: There's some history in this chapter… if it's not completely accurate, please don't bother to correct me on it. I've done as much research for it as I can (which is why it took me so long to get this chapter out) and I'm still not positive that it's perfect. It's good enough for the story, though. Hopefully!_

OOOOOOOOOOOOo

Braxton looked at Daniel, his eyes wide.

"_God_?"

Daniel's eyes were just as wide, but his surprise at the letters in the dirt in front of him turned to confusion when the villager spoke up.

"What?"

"_You_ know of God?" Braxton asked, and now there was total silence in the area as everyone turned to look at Daniel and the others.

Daniel hesitated.

"I know of… _a_ God. But many people worship many different-"

"God!"

This time it was Richard, who had come forward, crouching down in front of Daniel and the rest of SG-1.

"Jehovah."

Daniel's jaw dropped. While every race and every set of aliens they'd ever met seemed to have the word god in their vocabularies, none had ever used that word before.

"I know who you _mean_," he said. "Are you saying you know who He is?"

"He is the Creator of all," Braxton said. "He made everything, including people. You know him?"

"Well… not _personally_," Daniel said. "I mean, we know _of_ him – like you do – but we haven't really met or anything…"

Braxton glanced at Ian again, but then looked at Daniel, as if suddenly unwilling to appear rude by staring.

"What do you know of him? We –"

"Braxton," Daniel interrupted. "Do you remember _any_ more of the symbols from the cave? Any more like these?" He pointed to the dirt. "It's important."

The man shook his head.

"I could only try – and I would probably not draw them correctly. There are many, many, pictures and I only remember those three because I actually touched them – although at the time I was not supposed to be there."

"Is it important?" Richard asked. He, too, had looked over at Ian, but then back at Daniel. "Does it have to do with God?"

Daniel shook his head, annoyed that his outburst – mild as it had seemed at the time – had produced such a response. His own fledgling suspicions were bearing fruit, but he needed these people to focus on one thing, and they had completely taken the conversation on another track – a track he wasn't really anxious to pursue. He didn't want to discuss religion with them – especially since there was a very real chance that they would take whatever he said so seriously it could screw with their own beliefs.

"It's important, yes. But no, it has nothing to do with God. It's more along the lines of trying to figure out something I'm curious about."

"You mean where my people came from…"

Braxton might be a simple hunter/villager, but he wasn't stupid.

"Yes. Maybe."

"What are you thinking, Daniel?" Jack asked, curiously.

"They call themselves the Brish, Jack. And they have accents so much like a BBC broadcast that it's almost a parody of one."

"Maybe it's just coincidence."

"I doubt it."

"You think the Goa'uld kidnapped some British people?" Ian asked, doubtfully, looking at the villagers. "They might _sound_ a bit like them, but they don't _look_ like any British people I've ever seen. And I've never heard of any reports of large groups of British people going missing."

"They look like a combination of a couple of things," Daniel said, disagreeing. "British and perhaps Native Americans. And I _have_ read of a group of them gone missing – and so have you if you think about your History classes."

Jack scowled.

"What are you getting at?"

"_Roanoke_, Jack," Daniel said, looking at him. "In 1587 a colony – the first English colony in the New World – was established by a group of 120 or so people. When the next supply ship arrived, they couldn't find this group of settlers. There was no trace of them. Anywhere. "

"Roke!" Richard said, excitedly. He'd been listening – as had everyone else – and it was obvious from the reaction of those villagers that this word was important to them. "You know of this Roke?"

"What do _you_ know of it, Richard?" Daniel asked, trying to suppress his own excitement. He was on the verge, after all, of solving one of the oldest American puzzles ever. "What can you tell me of Roke?"

"It's a place of legend, Daniel."

"Have you been there?"

"It's not real," Braxton said. "It's where _God_ lives, waiting for…" He hesitated, and then fell silent, his eyes glancing to Ian once more, but then away. Daniel hadn't missed the look, though, and he looked over at Ian, too, thinking the cadet had done something; made a gesture or a noise or facial expression, that had drawn Braxton's attention. Ian wasn't doing anything, though.

"Waiting for what?" Daniel asked.

"It's just a story, Daniel."

"I'd like to hear it. Please?"

Braxton shook his head.

"It is not my story to tell. Tell me more of what you know of Roke, please?"

The villagers had inched closer – some were even within reach of Teal'c, now, forgetting in their interest and excitement that they were wary of the Jaffa.

"There's no more to tell," Daniel said, frustrated. He wanted to know what Braxton had been intending to say – because there was no doubt there was more to the legend. He was also certain that he wasn't going to be able to convince him to say anything more about it. Not just then, anyways. "The people vanished."

"And you think they came here?" Jack asked, doubtfully.

"Not _just_ them, maybe," Daniel said. "Maybe there were some Native Americans caught up in it as well…"

"They still talk like British people," Ian said. "Wouldn't they have lost that accent in the last… what… 420-ish years?"

Daniel shook his head.

"People who don't change and grow tend to stagnate – as do their speech patterns. They'd have grown more pronounced, not less." He looked over at Braxton and Richard. "I _have_ to see this cave."


	14. 14

"We'll go first thing in the morning…"

"It's still light out," Daniel said, looking at the fading daylight. "Maybe we could start there now? If we use flashlights – torches, or something?"

Ian scowled. It wasn't light out. It was almost completely dark, and the last thing he wanted to do on the planet was fall in one of those fucking holes and break his leg like Taylor had. Sure as shit he would, too. And it'd be a tree that pushed him there, he was sure.

Luckily, Richard had been thinking along similar lines.

"It's dangerous to walk in the dark if you're unaccustomed to the ground you're walking on, Daniel. There are uneven areas that would surely be a danger to you and your companions. They are dangerous to us, even – Taylor knows the area well and he still fell and broke his leg."

"But we-"

"It can wait until morning, Daniel," Jack said.

"But, Jack…"

"It can _wait_," Jack said, firmly. "I don't want to risk an injury – and those caves aren't going anywhere, right?"

Richard nodded, looking at Daniel.

"They have been there for as long as anyone remembers, Daniel. I promise to lead you there myself come morning."

He was trying to appease Daniel, and the archeologist knew it. And knew that he was right. It probably _was_ too dangerous. He sighed, and nodded.

"Thank you, Richard."

"You are welcomed." There was a slight hesitation. "Now… can you tell us more of Roke?"

There was a longing in the older man's eyes, and Daniel knew it to be a hunger to learn more about a place that he'd heard of only in legend. And knew he'd be feeling the same way if the places were reversed. Say someone had come to Earth and just happened to mention that they knew of… El Dorado or someplace – or Atlantis. Daniel looked over at Ian, recalling that the cadet seemed to know something of Atlantis. The villagers followed Daniel's gaze towards Ian, and Jack realized that it looked as if Daniel were asking Ian permission to tell the story.

Ian didn't catch it though. Once the whole wandering around in the darkness issue had been resolved, he'd attacked his dinner, and wasn't watching those around him – although he always listened.

"Go ahead, Daniel," Jack said, shrugging. "It's not going to hurt them to hear the story – although you might be wrong about them…"

Daniel disagreed, but he'd already told them some of it, so the damage was probably already done. He did, however, tell it as if it had happened to someone else, and not as if it were the history of the villagers – as he suspected it was.

"There was once a country – well, it's still there, really, so I suppose once isn't really the right word to use… but there was – is – this country. And it sits on the edge of a great ocean. Some of the people who live in this country sailed ships and on the other side of the ocean found a new country – a new world. It was filled with things that they'd never seen before – animals they didn't even have names for, and new people. People that were as strange to them as these people were to them."

"What's an ocean?" Taylor asked, enthralled with the story already.

"It's a body of water."

"Like a puddle?"

"Much bigger," Daniel said. "_Huge_ compared to a puddle."

"How much bigger?"

Daniel frowned. How did he explain an ocean to a group of people who obviously didn't have anything to compare it to?

"A _lot_ bigger."

"But how _much_ bigger?"

"It's just a lot bigger," Daniel said, trying very hard to be patient with the boy.

Ian didn't share that inclination. He scowled, and looked up from his dinner.

"See this cup?" He asked, Taylor, holding up the cup he'd been given.

"Yes."

"How many cups of water do you suppose a puddle holds?"

Taylor hesitated.

"A lot."

_That_ was scientific. Ian didn't say that, though. Instead, he drained his cup, and looked at the boy – and those around him, who were also waiting for the answer.

"Guess."

"Fifty." One of the men said, caught up in the hypothetical lesson.

Ian nodded.

"Okay. So how long would it take you to drink 50 cups of water?"

"It would depend on how hot it was," Richard said.

Ian scowled. Jesus, didn't these people have any imagination?

"Just guess."

Richard shrugged.

"A couple of weeks."

"By yourself?" Ian asked.

The man nodded.

"Fine. If you were to try and drink an _ocean_ a cup at a time, you and all the people here in the village would have to drink 50 cups every hour, and it would still take _all_ of you 908 lifetimes to drink it all. That's how much water is in an ocean."

They all stared at him for a long moment – and Daniel was, too. It was as good an explanation as any – and really wasn't a bad analogy. Daniel wondered if Ian had done the math in his head – and decided he'd check it out when they returned to the SGC.

"That's a lot of water…" one of the women finally said, staring at the cup in Ian's hand.

Daniel nodded, drawing their attention back to the story. He was an archeologist, after all, and they dealt with stories all the time, and he was a closet storyteller – whether he liked it or not.

"So these people found this new land, and sailed their ships back to their own country – telling of all the new things they'd seen and the boundless land that had been on the other side of the ocean. And other people were interested and wanted to see it as well. They were crowded where they lived, and hoped that they could have a new place with plenty of room for them."

"Did they ask the people already living there?" Taylor asked, awed by the story.

Daniel shook his head.

"But these people were very nice to the strangers when they showed up, and welcomed them. They helped them get settled somewhat, and the people called their new colony Roanoke. Seeing that they were welcomed, the ship left them there, to go back to their own country and get more supplies, and more people. But when they came back – several months later – there was no one there. Not even a trace of them."

There was silence as the villagers all took this information in, and stared at Daniel and the others.

"But what happened to them?" Taylor asked.

"I don't know," Daniel answered. "No one does."

"_They_ do," Richard said. "The ones it happened to…"

Daniel nodded.

"Which is why I'm so interested in the cave."


	15. 15

"Do you _really_ think these people are descendants from the Roanoke colony?" Jack asked Daniel about an hour later. They'd finished eating while Daniel answered a few more questions the villagers had – although they didn't ask him anything he really had a definite answer for – and then they'd excused themselves to return to their lodge.

Daniel shrugged, watching as Jack fed Jaffer and Jack (the dog).

"I'm not sure, Jack, but it certainly seems that way. Hopefully I'll know more after we see this cave."

"And then what?" Ian asked.

"What do mean?"

"So they turn out to be from Roanoke… do we take them home with us?"

Jack frowned.

"No."

Daniel nodded his agreement; slightly surprised that Ian would even ask that – although when he thought about it, it only made sense, since Ian hadn't seen such a situation yet. The rest of them _had_, of course. There were several worlds that were seeded from the Middle East that they'd found so far, and none of them had been brought back to reintroduce them into modern society.

"We'd be doing them a disservice if we even tried. These people are healthy and appear to be happy where they are, and unless they actually asked us to – which I can't imagine them doing – we leave things as they stand. Here and on other worlds."

Ian shrugged; it wasn't as if he'd really wanted to bring any of them back anyways, he had just been curious.

Jack slapped Jaffer's shoulder, and moved towards the doorway to look outside.

"Let's get some sleep, guys."

They could have posted a watch, but with the dogs they didn't really need to. Not in the middle of a village. If the villagers tried anything, the dogs would warn them – not that Jack expected them to try anything – and they certainly didn't have to worry about wild animals creeping up on them.

Ian was all for sleeping. Of all of them, he was the most worn out – even if he was the youngest. He flopped down on his pallet and immediately covered up against the faint chill that was creeping over the village. In minutes he was already asleep.

Jack looked over at the cadet as he slipped off his holster and other bulky gear, and then turned to Daniel and Teal'c, gesturing for them to follow him a little off to the side.

"Did you notice the looks that they were giving Ian?" He asked softly, not wanting to wake Ian – although he wasn't hiding the question from the boy. He just knew that Ian needed his sleep.

Teal'c nodded immediately, and after a moment, Daniel did as well.

"They're probably just curious about him. He's more vocal than you or Teal'c, obviously. And he's very good at explaining things – surprisingly enough."

Of course, Ian had no patience for people, so they didn't see that kind of thing happen. Ever.

"It is more than that, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said, his own voice gravelly, even in a whisper. "They are watching him… even when they do not appear to be."

Teal'c was much better at reading people than Daniel – although Jack was a fair hand at it, too.

Jack nodded his agreement.

"Keep an eye on him tomorrow, Teal'c. I don't want him alone with any of these folks."

"You don't think they're thinking of trying to do anything…?" Daniel asked. "They certainly don't appear to be hos-"

"I don't _know_, Daniel," Jack interrupted. "I just don't want them to have a chance to do something if they _are_ planning on it…"

Jack, of course, was far more suspicious of people than Daniel was.

"Let's get some sleep."

The sooner they got to the cave and checked it out, the sooner they could find out. And then the sooner they could go home.

Daniel and Teal'c nodded their agreement and headed for their beds, while the dogs finished up their meal and took places near the doorway where they would sleep but still be able to keep an eye on things.

OOOOOOOOOO

At the same time, there was a meeting of sorts in another lodge. This one on the other side of the dark village.

"Are you certain the boy's leg was _broken_?" Richard asked. "I mean, he _is_ a _boy_, after all, and while I'm sure it hurt, it's always possible that he is exaggerating a little, isn't it?"

"Taylor broke his wrist last year," Braxton said, reminding Richard of something he already knew. "He says he felt the bone snap – and then felt the bone heal again when the one named Ian rested his hand on it. He has to be a Healer."

"Plus they know about _God_," someone said, reverently. "How else would they know?"

"And he has a tame _Jaffa_," another member of the council said, speaking up. "Only someone with great powers could keep a Jaffa from killing him and his friends."

"Not to mention the creatures they have with them," Braxton said. "Dana says they are called _dogs_, and they obey the boy without hesitation – and that, too, speaks of great power."

"Why not just _ask_ him?" Taylor's mother said, softly. "They are not a threat to us, that much is certain, and I don't see how it could hurt to ask."

"He might not want anyone to know," Richard said.

"Or he might be waiting for us to figure it out on our own."

Richard frowned, and reached up, rubbing his forehead.

"Let me think about it," he said. "We'll be able to watch him tomorrow when we take them to the caves. We'll see what happens then. Maybe we'll learn more if they can _really_ understand the symbols on the walls…"

There was a little grumbling – most of them had wanted something solid to take home with them and let's wait and see didn't seem all that solid to any of them – but they left. It was getting late, and they would be up with the sun.

Certainly their guests would be. The one named Daniel seemed so eager to see the caves, after all, that he'd been willing to risk breaking his leg to go out in the dark. Of course, if one of your companions could heal your injured leg with a touch, then why not risk hurting yourself?


	16. 16

The next morning was chilly, but not really cold. The kind of chill that you know the sun will burn off long before the day is really begun, although it certainly made it tough to leave the warmth of the blankets.

"Stay close to Teal'c today," Jack told Ian as the two of them were strapping on their holsters and preparing for their morning. Teal'c had taken Jaffer and Jack (the dog) out for a morning pee, and Daniel had left as soon as it was light out to go find out when they would be leaving for the cave.

"Why, Jack?"

Ian wasn't annoyed or anything, and he wasn't arguing with the order. He just wanted to know the reason behind it – in case something had happened while he'd been sleeping that he didn't know about.

"Let's just say I don't like the funny looks these folks have been giving you."

"Think they're up to something?"

Ian wasn't worried about the funny looks – although truth be told he hadn't really noticed. They were a bunch of _villagers_, for shit's sake. He could handle himself.

"I don't know," Jack told him honestly, shrugging. "Just keep your eyes open today, okay? I don't want to have to explain to Sam why we have to go looking for a new Godfather for Jake."

Ian smiled.

"I'll stay alert."

"Good." Jack headed for the doorway. "Let's see if they have any breakfast made. I'm starving."

Which was a great idea as far as Ian was concerned. He could eat a horse. If there had been one around.

OOOOOOOO

Daniel was standing next to the main fireplace area when they went outside. The archeologist was chatting with a group that held an equal portion of men and women who were also apparently waiting for breakfast to be served. There were little kids running all over the place, playing some sort of tag game, but several of them stopped when Ian made an appearance and ran over to greet him and Jack, smiling and looking like any other kids fresh off a playground.

"Good morning!" one of the girls said, cheerfully.

Jack smiled.

"Good morning."

The girl looked at Ian, who hadn't greeted her.

"Good morning," she repeated.

He sighed, inwardly, and nodded.

"Morning."

Jack grinned.

Before they could say anything else, Jaffer came rushing up to Jack – much to the concerns of those parents who happened to be out and about and saw the large creature bolting towards their children. The adults didn't have any familiarization with the dogs – and they were nervous and leery of being too close to them. Or having their children too close. The kids, on the other hand, had all met the dogs the day before and knew them to be friendly.

They swarmed over Jaffer, taking the attention off Ian, who wished for about a dozen more dogs just then – although Jaffer was more than willing to be the center of attention.

"What _is_ it about you and kids?" Jack asked him, still grinning his amusement.

Ian scowled, and turned for the fire once more, with Jack still walking beside him.

"They're like a bunch of little viruses, all just _waiting_ to pounce on you…"

Jack snorted.

"They're not _that_ bad."

"You _have_ to say that; you're a father."

"They grow on you."

"Like a disease?"

Jack shook his head.

"You just need to spend some time with them and get to know them."

Ian looked at the group of kids, all of who were trying to pet Jaffer at the same time, and being noisy and disgustingly cheerful about it.

"I'd rather eat my own-"

"Breakfast!"

Daniel interrupted the conversation before Jack could find out what Ian would rather do, but neither of them minded, really. The archeologist was holding a plate that was heaped with steaming food, and Ian's mouth watered immediately. One thing the villagers knew how to do was cook, that was for sure.

The woman who had handed Daniel his plate handed Ian one as well – giving him a welcoming smile and a slight bow. Jack was given one also, and then both were handed a steaming mug of some kind of tea.

"Jack!"

They all turned and saw Richard walking toward them with a small group of council members following. Ian understood immediately what Jack had meant by the odd looks – the ones he was getting just then from those men were just plain weird – but Jack greeted them amicably enough.

"Good morning, Richard."

"How did you sleep?" The older man asked him politely, now turning his attention to Jack as if trying to hide the fact that he'd been watching Ian.

"Fine, thanks."

"Good…" he paused as Teal'c joined them, and one of the women handed the Jaffa a plate of breakfast as well – although she did it tentatively. Teal'c bowed a thank you to her and was rewarded with a shy, nervous smile. "As soon as breakfast is finished, Braxton and a few men will escort you and your companions to the cave you wish to see."

"Thank you, Richard," Jack said as they all walked over to the mats that served as furniture to eat on. "Will you be coming as well?"

Richard shook his head.

"It's a walk for younger legs than my own," he said. "I would ask that when you return here you tell me what – if anything – you find."

"Of course," Daniel said. Like he'd be able to keep it to himself anyways?

"How far away is this place?" Jack asked.

"Several hours' walk."


	17. 17

After breakfast – which was so good that Ian ate far more than he probably should have – they were given ten minutes or so to get cleaned up and changed (which they didn't need to do) before the group that was going to take them to the cave ended up outside the door to their lodge.

"Are you ready?" Braxton asked politely.

Jack nodded; double-checking to make sure the safety on his P90 was on. They were taking all their weaponry with them. Not because they were worried about running into trouble – although you never knew, right? They were taking it because it was better to have them on hand than to risk someone else getting hold of the gun. Someone who'd never used one before and might hurt themselves. The same reason Jack always kept a close watch on the weapons – the guns, especially.

"We're ready."

Daniel, in fact, had been practically dancing with impatience while the others had been getting ready, and predictably, he was the first out the doorway to join the villagers.

The group guiding them was composed of four people, all males and all dressed in loincloths, leather leggings and soft calf-high boots made of leather. They were carrying weapons, too; bows slung over their backs with quivers of arrows at their sides, attached to their belts with leather thongs. Ian felt like he'd jumped into the middle of a two-bit western.

"This is Peter," Braxton said, introducing the men with him. "And Aaron, and Stuart. They have agreed to come with us."

"Nice to meet you," Jack said.

The men nodded, and glanced at Ian before giving Jack polite smiles.

"We have quite a ways to go," Aaron told them. "We should get going if we want to be back before dinner."

And they definitely _did_.

As they walked out of the village, Teal'c took a position between Ian and Peter, who seemed to be trying to get close to the cadet. Remembering his promise to O'Neill, the Jaffa wasn't about to allow that. Instead, he and Jack (the dog) walked close to Ian, and Teal'c frowned at them every time one of the villagers tried to rearrange positions to move closer to Ian.

Soon they stopped trying. Teal'c was a Jaffa, after all, and even if he was tamed, they were afraid of him. And his beast.

Daniel wasn't paying attention to this, although Jack had noticed immediately. Instead, the archeologist was doing what he did best. Asking questions.

"How do your people get the grains needed for the rolls we had for dinner last night?" he asked Braxton. "Do you grow your own?"

"We have fields of wild grains that we cultivate – although we never plant more."

"Then how does it grow enough to sustain you?"

"We don't over harvest," Braxton told him. "We leave plenty for the animals of the forest, and nature takes care of the rest. Every year there is more than enough for all of us."

"Do you raise herds?"

"Herds?"

"Of animals. Cows or goats or..."

"We hunt," Peter said, casting a look over at Teal'c. "There is plenty in the forest to eat if you know how to find it."

He didn't mention that he didn't have a clue what a cow was, but he didn't have to. Daniel hadn't seen any cows or goats or any other animals in the village, which wasn't necessarily a definitive sign that they didn't have any – they might have sheep at a lower pasture or something – but it was a hint that they didn't. None of the skins Daniel had seen seemed to come from domesticated animals – and he'd looked – which was another hint.

"With just bows?"

"And snares."

"Is there anything big in these woods?" Jack asked, curiously.

"Trees…"

Ian snorted.

Jack scowled.

"I mean are there any big _animals_?"

"Dangerous animals, you mean?" Aaron asked, looking at the gun in Jack's hand.

"Yeah."

"Nothing we need to worry about."

"Good."

"Just watch where you step," Braxton said, pointing down. In the path n front of them was one of the holes that Taylor had broken his leg by tripping in.

"What makes them?" Jack asked, curiously as Ian stepped over it.

"A ground snake," Braxton said. "They're not poisonous – and they're very tasty. But the _holes_ are very dangerous. As my son found out the hard way." He looked at Ian. "I never had a chance to properly thank you for what you did for him."

"You don't need to thank me."

"But I do. If you had not healed him, it is very possible that the leg wouldn't have healed properly – and that would have left him crippled."

"It wasn't that bad," Ian said, shrugging. He hadn't _wanted_ to heal the little kid in the first place, so he was uncomfortable being thanked for doing it. "Don't worry about it."

Braxton exchanged glances with one of the others. Without realizing it, Ian was confirming what they were already suspecting – and Teal'c's behavior was adding to that belief.

"How many people live in your village?" Jack asked, changing the subject.

"Seventy-three."

Daniel frowned. That wasn't enough people to make a viable population for safe breeding, and none of the villagers had that sickly look that comes from being forced to take mates from among close relatives.

"That's not very many…" He said, trying to think of a way to bring up the mating and marriage question without seeming to be too nosy.

"We are the largest village in the area." Peter said proudly.

"In the _area_?" Jack echoed. "How many more villages are there?"

"Several," Braxton said, looking surprised at the question. "In this area alone there are four, but there are many, many more further away."

"So you seek wives and husbands from these other villages?" Daniel asked, figuring it was a good way to ask and not offend.

Braxton nodded.

"However, it is most difficult. Young women will leave their villages only if we do something to prove ourselves worthy of being selected as a potential mate. Which is why it is so important that Taylor's leg was healed. No woman would have wanted to marry a crippled man – and he would not have been able to prove himself to her."

He turned to Ian.

"Truly, you have done a great thing. A power such as yours would bring you any woman you wanted, I imagine."

Ian scowled.

"I have a girlfriend."

"A _mate_?" Braxton asked, curiously.

The cadet colored slightly, and refused to look Jack's direction.

"How far is this cave?"


	18. 18

The rest of the walk to the cave Ian didn't say a word. He hadn't wanted to in any event, and he was pretty much pissed off now and figured it'd be better if he didn't talk to any of the villagers just then anyways. The last thing he'd wanted was to talk about himself – especially to these strangers, and about Cassie. He wasn't sure how Jack – or the others – had taken his response to the questioning about his relationship with Cassie, and he couldn't – and _wouldn't_ – ask. Not here. Not even on Earth. All he could do was fume, and the more he fumed the angrier he got at Braxton for bringing it up in the first place.

As if he sensed the anger and frustration Ian was feeling, Jaffer had moved up a bit and was walking on Ian's left, his head occasionally brushing against Ian's thigh, or hand. He didn't _do_ anything – they were walking, after all and there wasn't much chance for cuddling or ball playing – but even angry, Ian would slide a hand along his ears every now and then, automatically caressing the soft fur. Dogs just had that effect on him. On anyone who liked dogs, actually. And while it wasn't soothing enough to keep him from seething, it _was_ enough to keep him from spontaneously combusting.

And the villagers watched in barely concealed awe as he was surrounded by his protectors; the two fierce animals and the Jaffa, even as they answered Daniel's questions about their people.

OOOOOOOOO

"There it is."

Braxton came to a halt after several minutes of hacking their way through some very overgrown brush and other vegetation. Not only were there large, tough weeds growing up from the ground, but also there were thick leafy tree branches, and all sorts of vines and stuff hanging down from above. The ground had gotten a little rocky – although it was still fairly level – and there were some mounds that could be small hills or simply piles of rocks.

The mound that they were standing in front of now was the biggest that they'd seen on their walk. Roughly two stories high and several hundred feet across, it was impressive in a forest that held nothing so large – although hardly the biggest mound that Daniel had ever seen. He was excited, though, and made no attempt to hide that.

"Is it man-made?" he asked, as they stepped forward.

The entrance of the cave was small and overgrown with weeds and brush and rubble from where rocks had fallen in from the ceiling.

"It's always been here," Braxton said, shrugging.

As the archeologist stepped up to the entrance, Jack scowled.

"Watch yourself, Daniel…"

"I will."

He didn't tell Jack that he was used to going into caves and places like this – he didn't have to. And it wouldn't have done any good, at any rate. Jack would have said that to him if he were walking over a perfectly flat meadow.

"You must be careful," Braxton said, agreeing with Jack. "The ceiling is unstable. Pieces fall all the time."

"I'll watch out for them."

Daniel was already reaching for his flashlight.

Peter had walked up to the entrance with Daniel, and Jack noticed that while Daniel hadn't looked up once to check for falling rocks, the villager definitely was.

Jack turned to Braxton.

"Is there anything else around here?"

"Another cave, you mean?"

"Or anything…"

"One of the villages relocated to this area about the same time we moved ours," Taylor's father told them, watching as Daniel vanished into the cave, Peter and Teal'c following to give him light and watch for falling rocks. Jack (the dog) stayed with Jaffer for now, since Teal'c had gestured for him to remain out of the way, not knowing how large the cave was, or if there would be ample footing for the dog as well as the humans. "But they are a day's walk away, so we probably will not see any of them."

Jack nodded. That was fine with him. The less company the better as far as he was concerned.

"Jack!"

Daniel's call interrupted anything Jack might have been planning to say, and he bolted for the entrance of the cave, uncertain if the cry had been excited or troubled. With Daniel, you just never knew sometimes. Right behind him was Braxton and Ian and Jaffer and Jack (the dog) scampered into the entrance before anyone could tell them otherwise.

Jack and Ian both stopped as soon as they entered the cave.

"Wow."

Daniel looked over at them, amused to hear such a tone of awe from Jack, who was hard to impress when it came to any kind of archeology.

"Isn't it amazing?" He asked, looking up at the walls, try8ing to take everything in at once.

The cave was dark and damp inside, with the inner walls actually sweating moisture. The floor was littered with rocks that had fallen, and one side of the cave area showed signs of a cave-in, with a large pile of rocks. The ceiling was high and the cave was big enough that they couldn't easily see the rear wall – although the light from the flashlight Ian shined that direction found it, it just couldn't illuminate it enough to make anything visible.

But the far wall wasn't what they were looking at. The wall that Daniel had been looking at – and now Jack and the others – was interesting enough to keep anyone's attention. Including the villagers, and they didn't even know what they were looking at.

There was a crudely chiseled picture of what had to be a ship. It looked like a ship, anyways, complete with three masts and what might have been sails if you used your imagination. And Daniel had plenty of imagination to use. There was a picture of what was probably supposed to be a map, representing the Old World (since that was what it was labeled as – in English, they all saw) and an ocean and then another piece of land, labeled with only the word Roanoke.

"I was right…"

Jack stepped closer to the wall, running his hand along the surface. It was, indeed, chiseled in. Under the rough map was something that was even more proof that Daniel was right:

_HMS Pelican_

_1587_

_Landed safe, contact made with natives. All well with Roanoke. Gov. left for supplies. The sky opened up and we found ourselves here in this odd place along with some of the natives, who have no more idea of what happened than we do. Assumed it was another section of the new world, until the strangers arrived and proved otherwise. Aliens!_

_Civilization lost. Weapons rusting. Tools rusting and worthless. The natives with us great help, but we-_

It ended there, however. Part of the wall had sloughed off – undoubtedly a victim of the moisture bleeding down the insides of the cave. There was rubble on the floor at the base of that section, but it was only small pieces. And when Jack picked up a piece of it, he could see that there were several letters on the small piece of rock, but no way of knowing what it was supposed to say.

"Aliens came…" Daniel said, reading the paragraph again. He looked at Teal'c, who was his best guide when it came to getting into the minds of the System Lords. "It doesn't seem like a Goa'uld attack, though. They wouldn't have just left the people someplace else, would they?"

"You understand this, Daniel?" Braxton asked, amazed.

Daniel nodded.

"They're not pictures, Braxton." He said. "Well… some of them are – this is." He pointed to the map. "But this…" and now he was pointing to the engraved writing, wishing that whoever had chiseled it would have written more – or deeper. "This is writing. English writing. The symbols are each a letter, which spell out words."

Ian had been looking at the other walls, though. He'd read the wall and didn't need to see it again to know what it said. Which made more room for the others. Shining the light on the far wall, he stopped, surprised.

"_This_ isn't English…" He looked over at Daniel, who had turned. "It's Ancient."


	19. 19

"_Ancient_?" Daniel asked, turning and stumbling over a rock on the floor and barely catching himself before he fell. "Really?"

"Careful, Daniel," Jack said – again.

"I'm fine, Jack… it's just a little unsteady right here."

"There have been several instances of rocks falling…" Peter said, looking around with interest. He had been to the cave before, but had never actually spent so much time inside it. Children were warned from a very young age just how dangerous the place was, and this was usually enough to keep all but the bravest – or most foolish – out of it.

"What does it say, Ian?" Jack asked, shining his flashlight that direction for a moment, but then bringing it back to the picture of the ship and the map. It was the first time he'd actually been all that interested in anything that they'd found – that wasn't a weapon, anyways – and he had to admit it was pretty interesting to be looking at something so old.

Daniel shined his flashlight at Ian, and the wall that he couldn't yet get close enough to see with any clarity. Ian wasn't watching him, though. The cadet had turned back to the wall and was looking at it – presumably reading it, and was moving further to the right, absorbed in whatever it was. Daniel couldn't really tell what he was looking at, because Ian's flashlight was blocked by his body.

"Hey! There's a-"

"Ian!"

Jack was the first to feel the tremor. The shudder that seemed to run through the entire structure of the cave that surrounded him. The others felt it almost as soon, and Braxton and Aaron fearfully looked up, already dodging towards the entrance. Before any of them could move, however, and huge slab of ceiling came crashing down, landing right in front of Daniel, who jerked backwards, tumbling to the rocky floor of the cave and crashing into Jaffer, who had been lunging toward Ian – as if to knock him out of the way. The big dog was knocked backward and both of them careened into Teal'c, who took their impact without being knocked over, and reached a hand to steady them.

"Ian!"

"We must _leave_!" Aaron screamed, already heading for the entrance, and pulling on Jack, who was closest.

O'Neill shrugged him off easily, staring at the wall of rubble in front of him. Dust and dirt were floating all around them, but Jack had eyes only for the stone. The slab had weighed thousands of pounds – it _had_ to considering how big it was. If Ian had been caught by that…

"_Ian_!"

"Don't _yell_," Braxton hissed, looking pale and scared in the light of the flashlight Jack held. "You'll bring more down."

"We have to clear this away…"

"It is impossible."

"Teal'c."

Jack pushed Braxton away, and he reached for one of the rocks – one that was about the size of his head.

"It'll take _days_…" Braxton said, shaking his head. "And you must realize that even _with_ his powers, if the stones landed on him, he's dead."

"He doesn't _have_ any powers," Jack snapped, dropping the rock to the side after making sure Jaffer was out of the way. "He's just a _kid_. And we have to _find_ him."

Even if he _was_ dead, they had to find him. They couldn't leave him. Jack _wouldn't_ leave him.

"It might have missed him," Daniel said, reaching for a rock as well, his P90 already on the floor to the side, where Jaffer and Jack (the dog) were standing. Teal'c had gestured for both dogs to go there, and had leaned his staff weapon against the wall where it would be out of the way and give him both hands to move stones.

"He would have answered." Peter said, from the entrance to the cave.

"Not if he was knocked out or something," Jack said, bringing over another rock and dropping it to the side. "Either help, or get out of the way."

The three villagers looked at each other, then looked up at the ceiling, and then looked at each other once more.

Then they inched into the cave once more, and hesitantly started picking up rocks.

OOOOOOOOOO

On the other side of the huge pile of rubble that had once been part of the ceiling of the cave, a single form was sprawled on the rocky floor. Covered in dust and smaller pebbles, he was motionless, but there were still signs of life. His chest rose and fell as he breathed, and a cut on his shoulder and another on his forehead bled freely, a sure sign – had anyone been there to _see_ it – that his heart was still beating.

He'd felt the shudder through the cave – felt it like it was going through his own bones – and had launched himself forward, knowing without even thinking about it that he didn't have a chance in hell of getting out of the way going backwards. There was a niche in the rock wall. A depression of some sort that he'd started to tell the others about. It'd looked like another cave, perhaps – or maybe just a small tunnel. Something like that. Whatever it was, that was where he'd headed, and he'd almost made it. But he'd hit his head on something – a rock, undoubtedly – or maybe one had fallen on him, and he'd been knocked out instead.

He didn't know how _lucky_ he was, and he'd never know, probably.

But someone did. Someone who had been watching. Hiding from the newcomers and their fearful beasts – which he'd heard of and had wanted to see, but definitely didn't want to get close to. He'd seen the magical light coming close to his hiding spot, and had backed away, afraid that despite how very quiet he'd been he was still going to be discovered.

And then the ceiling had dropped, and in the sound of rock settling and the confusion of voices and shouts from the other side of the large pile, the watching figure moved forward once more. A hand reached out, nudging the boy who was sprawled on the cave floor. When he didn't move – only made a soft groan of protest that was barely audible to the watcher, and certainly inaudible to any of the others, the watcher checked to make sure there weren't any broken limbs that needed to be immobilized, and then carefully pulled the boy backwards, towards his niche.

It was hard work, but the watcher was far stronger than he looked. Most of his people were. In only fifteen minutes or so there was no sign that the watcher had been there – and there was no sign of the boy he'd just taken.


	20. 20

"_Ian_!"

Jack and the others constantly called his name while they moved the rocks. Well, Daniel and Teal'c did. The villagers were silent, frequently casting terrified looks up at the ceiling of the cave before returning to rock moving, and throwing fearful looks at the members of SG-1 every time one of them called the boy's name.

They kept calling, though. For one thing, if Ian was unconscious it might be a way to bring him around so they'd have some sign that he was really alive. For another, if he was conscious and pinned or badly injured and unable to speak, it was a way for them to let him know that they were coming. That they hadn't left him for dead, and abandoned him. And another… Jack just had to.

After several hours of this, they had the top layer of rocks moved, but the going was slow and the uneven floor of the cave made it hard to walk carrying a large rock at the same time so they could dump it somewhere out of the way. The dogs were whining softly, eager to help, but unable to get over the pile just yet. The labs would have their chance, though, Daniel knew. As soon as Jack had the pile of rocks low enough that it'd be safe, he was certain that Jaffer – and probably Jack (the dog) would be sent over to find Ian. And maybe take him something to drink, or a first aid kit. If they heard anything from him by then.

The pile was a lot bigger than it had appeared at first, however. Braxton admitted it was probably the worst of all the falls that had ever happened. He'd never seen so much rock come down at one time.

"We won't get it all moved by the time it gets dark…" he finally said, wiping sweat from his dirt-streaked face.

"We don't need to get it _all_ moved," Jack said, moving another rock. "Just enough to allow the dogs through. They'll find him, and then we'll know exactly where to concentrate our efforts."

Braxton looked over at the dogs, who were sitting out of the way, watching intently.

"They can do that?"

"Yes," Daniel said, before Jack could get annoyed by the distraction and questions.

Braxton gave the dogs another long look, and then returned to what he'd been doing.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Something wet and cool touched his forehead, pulling Ian from a restless sleep. He'd been dreaming of falling rocks and old sailing ships with Ancients on board, and was only vaguely aware that he was hurting. Until he was woken up, anyways. As consciousness returned, he became aware that his head was killing him and that it felt like someone was poking him in the side with a pointed stick.

He groaned, and tried to move away from the stick in his side, rolling away from it, and felt strong hands holding him in place.

"Don't move…"

That wasn't a voice he recognized. He opened his eyes and found himself looking into a pair of clear blue eyes. Attached to a lovely face that was wearing a concerned and nervous expression. He didn't recognize her, but he supposed it was possible that he hadn't met every woman in the village yet, and he cast through his memories, trying to figure out what had happened.

"Rocks…" His voice was a croak, which was annoying.

She nodded, though, obviously able to understand him, and pressed a cup of water against his lips.

"You were _very_ lucky. It could have been very bad…"

Embarrassed at being offered a drink like a baby with a sippy cup, Ian reached his hand up and took the cup from her before gulping the contents down quickly.

"Where am I?" He asked, looking around. They weren't inside one of the lodges. They were in some kind of tent, but one that opened to the outside on one side of it. Like a lean-to, he supposed. A temporary shelter.

"We're going back to the village."

Ian frowned. That wasn't what he'd asked.

"Where am I _now_, though?"

"In a temporary shelter. Joshua brought you here."

"Joshua?"

"My husband."

She reached out and ran the cloth along his forehead once more, and Ian pulled away. It was annoying enough when Fraiser doctored him; it was even more irritating to allow a strange woman to do it.

"He pulled you from the cave…" she added, uncertainly. "What were you doing there? It's a _very_ dangerous-"

"Where is Jack?"

"Jack?"

Before Ian could say anything more, another person arrived at the lean-to. This one was male, wearing a loincloth and leggings and nothing else. His bare chest bore a few scratches but he smiled when he saw Ian was awake.

"Good! You're going to live, I see."

Ian scowled.

"Where am I?"

"I'm Joshua."

"That's not what I asked."

Joshua frowned.

"I pulled you from the cave after the rocks fell…"

Ian scowled, and sat up, feeling a lot of aches, but nothing that felt too serious. Nothing was broken as near as he could tell – although his head was pounding a bit and he was starving.

"That's not what I asked, either. Where am I?"

"In a temporary camp… it wasn't wise to move you too far with your injuries…"

"Where's Jack?"

"Jack?"

Ian's scowled deepened.

"The people I was with? Where are they?"

"They aren't here."

Ian looked around. The lean-to wasn't all that large, and it opened out towards a small fire which had some kind of meat spitted on several sticks leaning over into the flames to cook. It smelled delicious, but he wasn't going to be distracted by his stomach. As near as he could see, they were alone.

"Where are they?"

Joshua licked his lips, nervously, and Ian knew before he even spoke that he wasn't going to like the answer.

"They are at the cave… looking for you."

"What?"

"They think you are still buried…" the man admitted. "They are trying to find you."

"_Shit_!" Ian lurched to his feet, suddenly aware that someone had stripped his jacket and shirt off him while he'd been out – but had luckily kept his pants and boots on.

"You must _rest_!" Joshua said, quickly, reaching out for Ian's arm.

"Fuck you. I need to go find my friends. What the _fuck_ were you thinking?"

"Please…" the woman said, softly, nervously. She'd come to her feet as well, stumbling away from Ian as though terrified of him. "We… need your help…"


	21. 21

Ian's temper, which flared so easily and smoldered pretty much forever, was dampened just a little. Not so much because she asked him for help – he didn't know her and really couldn't give a shit less about her to be perfectly honest, (although he was willing to admit that his indifferent attitude was probably a result of just how pissed he was at her husband, who had allowed Jack and the others to believe he was still in the cave). God only knew what might happen to them if they were still looking for him – including another fucking cave in.

No, it wasn't that she asked for help. It was the very real fear in her eyes when she looked at him. Fear of _him_. Ian was used to having people hate him. He was used to people treating him like shit; teenaged kids who were jealous of others would tend to treat them like crap to get even with them for being better or smarter or faster or pretty much anything, and Ian was used to taking the brunt of that. So used to it that he was indifferent to that attitude as well. What he _wasn't_ used to was having someone actually _fear_ him. She was literally cowering away from him as if she expected him to hit her or something. And that stopped him cold, because he'd never given her – or anyone else on this fucking planet – any reason to fear him.

He hesitated. And she caught that hesitation. And could read the uncertainty in his expression. Which made her speak up again.

"Please…" she said. "Don't punish us… we just need help."

He scowled.

"Punish you?"

"For bringing you here against your will…"

"I need to find my friends," he said, still hesitating. What the fuck? Why would she think he was going to punish her? _How_ was he supposed to punish her? "They're going to be worried about me."

"We need you…" she told him, standing up a little straighter, the fear in her expression turning to anxiety. Which wasn't much better, but was better than fear.

"Need me?"

"Your _help_."

"What kind of help?"

"I want to have a baby…"

OOOOOOOOOOO

The light coming through the opening of the cave was fading by the time they'd cleared enough rock to make a space for the dogs to get safely through the rubble from the cave in. Jack (the dog) and Jaffer had become more and more anxious as time passed, and were so wired by the time the last rock was moved and Jack called them over, that they literally bounded up to him, energy needing to be released.

"What can they do?" Braxton asked, looking at the dogs. He wanted to believe that they would be of help, but they didn't have hands, and they didn't seem to be able to dig. Even if they could find the boy in the rocks, they wouldn't be able to help him. "He hasn't answered us all day. He must be buried under the-"

"Shut up!" Jack said, furious. He'd spent all day moving rocks and all day listening to the villagers tell him just how hopeless it was. If not for the fact that he absolutely _needed_ their help with the pile of rubble, he would have sent them all away the first hour. "He's fi-"

"The dogs can reach Ian, and help us locate him so we know where to concentrate our efforts," Daniel said quickly, before anyone could get angry. Or angrier, in Jack's case. Daniel knew it was just frustration and concern that was making him mad, and he understood. Luckily, the villagers did as well.

"Why don't you just pray?" Aaron asked, curiously. "Surely God would send you a miracle to aid his son."

Daniel frowned; looking over at Aaron, and even Jack stopped what he was doing to stare.

"What?"

Aaron flushed, which was noticeable only because Teal'c had shined his flashlight on the man.

"I mean… I know you obviously have a reason to keep the boy's identity a secret… but shouldn't you-"

"_What_?" Jack repeated.

"Who do you think he is?" Daniel asked, curiously, wondering how in the world they'd managed to make what was such an impossible leap of idiocy – assuming they said what he thought they were going to say.

"God's son." Braxton said, shrugging. "It's obvious – despite the fact that you call him Ian."

There was a long moment of stunned silence and the members of SG-1 stared at the villagers, who all looked as if they were in complete agreement.

"You're _kidding_…" Daniel said, finally.

"God as in… _God_…?" Jack asked at almost the same moment.

"God's _son_," Braxton clarified. As if _that_ made it all more believable.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Ian stared at the woman, and unconsciously backed up a step before he even realized he'd done it.

"Um… Yeah… I have a _girlfriend_…"

The woman frowned, and then realized what he was saying. And smiled. Which was much better than the fearful look – although it was a bit annoying as well.

"I have a _husband_, Lord. I only-"

"What did you call me?"

The smile faded and she once more looked afraid.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what you want to be called and I-"

"Ian."

Her smile returned, but now it was strained, and Ian felt like dog shit, even though he hadn't actually done anything.

"I'm Sabrina."

Ian wasn't sure what to say.

"Hi."

As if aware of his own discomfort, she took the initiative.

"Joshua and I want a baby."

"Yeah…" he looked over at the guy, who came over to stand by Sabrina. "Look, I don't know what to tell you… usually by the time people are your age, their parents have already told them how to… um… you know. What to do to… uh…"

He could feel his ears burning.

Sabrina nodded, realizing he still didn't understand. Although he was adorable when he was flustered.

"We know what to _do_, Lo- _Ian_. But it isn't working…"

"Then what makes you think I can help?"

"Because of who you are… Surely you can spare a miracle for us…?"


	22. 22

_Author's Note: LANGUAGE ALERT_

OOOOOOOOOOOO

"A miracle?"

Ian wasn't used to floundering, but he definitely didn't have a clue what they were talking about.

"Please?"

"I don't-"

"Just _touch_ her," Joshua said, quickly, as if trying to keep Ian from getting annoyed again. "We have the faith."

"In _what_?" Ian asked, scowling. God damn it! This was all _Daniel's_ fault. Sure as shit that little fucking kid told everyone he'd healed him and now Ian was going to be buried under people asking to be healed for the rest of their visit. "I'm not a healer. I'm not-"

"You're the son of _God_," Sabrina said. "Of _course_ you're a Healer."

"What? Who the hell told you _that_?"

They both shrank back, now, Joshua pulling his wife behind him to block her from Ian's wrath.

"It's all over the village… that you healed one of the children of Richard's village with a single touch…"

"_Richard's_ village?" Ian repeated. "Do you mean you're not from that village?"

"We live in Alan's village," Sabrina said, speaking up, although she nervously stayed behind Joshua's protective form. "A runner came last night, spreading the news."

"And said you and your followers were going to the cave to look at the ancient symbols," Joshua added. "I came on ahead and told Sabrina to follow, hoping you'd be willing to help-"

"Did you _cause_ that cave in?" Ian asked, his anger once more overpowering his curiosity. "Just to get-"

"No! I was just _watching_. I swear."

"How did you get me out without the others seeing you?"

"Through the tunnel."

"I need to get back there. _Now_."

"Please… just-"

"Look! I'm not who you think I am," Ian snapped at Joshua. "And you're _lucky_ I'm not because otherwise you'd have a lightning bolt so far up your ass you'd have to blow your nose to take a shit."

He turned and stormed out of the lean-to, not knowing which direction the cave was in but unwilling to stay any longer and listen to the crazy natives. Just when he'd thought things in his life couldn't get any fucking crazier than they already where this kind of shit comes along. He had half a mind to go live in some kind of monastery or something – or maybe become a hermit. Anything to stay away from the fruit loops that always seemed to find him.

"You're going the wrong direction," Joshua called from behind him. The man was doggedly following Ian, desperate for help. "Please! If you help my wife, I'll show you the way to the cave. I'll take you back myself!"

"You never should have taken me out of there in the first place," Ian said, coming to a stop so quickly that Joshua had to scramble not to bump into him. "They're probably-"

"I saved your life!"

"Bullshit."

"Help my wife and I'll take you to your friends."

"Take me to my friends or I'll beat the shit out of you."

Joshua frowned.

"I don't believe you will…"

Ian wasn't so angry that he'd attack an unarmed man. Especially now that he actually did have the training to kill someone with his hands. Training that was supposed to be used for self-defense. But it was frustrating all the same, and he felt like his head was going to explode.

"God _damn_ it! Which way is it?"

"Help my-"

"Fine." God, he was going to go nuts! "Take me to my friends and I'll see what I can do about your wife."

"Promise me."

"Fine."

"Say it."

"Joshua, take me to my friends. Now. Or I'm going to go looking for myself and you and your wife can both kiss my ass."

Confusion was clear on the villager's face as he tried to figure out why the son of God would want him and his wife to kiss his rear, and Ian sighed, realizing that he wasn't going to make any progress this way – and he knew he wasn't going to be able to find the cave on his own. Not without knowing which direction to go.

"I promise. _Okay_?"

"It's this way."

Joshua turned and headed off in the complete opposite direction that Ian had been going in the first place.

OOOOOOOOOOO

"Ian's _not_ the son of God, you guys…" Daniel said after another long, stunned silence. "What made you think that he was?"

"He's a healer, Daniel," Braxton said. "Say what you will, but we know he healed my son's leg with a touch. The legends say that the son of God will come as a healer. And will come from the east, with great beasts and miracles to prove who he is."

"And with that little bit you've decided that he's-"

"You know about God," Aaron said. "And you understand the symbols on the walls, and he is young, and dark-haired – like the legends say he-"

"Ian Brooks is the son of two humans," Teal'c said. "He is not who you think he is."

"He's tamed the Jaffa!" Peter said to Daniel and Jack, pointing at Teal'c. "We have heard stories of the Jaffa, and have seen them a few times. No one could-"

"_Tamed_ the Jaffa?" Jack repeated.

"He must be the-"

"He's not." Jack said, cutting Braxton off short. He'd heard enough of this nonsense, and he had other things to worry about. Mainly finding Ian – preferably alive and well, if not a little battered. "Jaffer!"

The big black lab had been waiting to be called, and he headed for the space Jack and the others had made in the rock pile. With Jack (the dog) right behind him, the lab scrambled over the rocks, eager to find where Ian was hiding and get him back with the group.

"Perhaps he has hidden his true identity from you as well," Peter said to Daniel, who was watching as Jack (the dog) disappeared behind the wall of rocks and dirt.

"He hasn't," Daniel said, shortly. "Believe me, Ian's not the son of God. I've _met_ his dad, and Nathan is hardly the kind of guy who can be mistaken for-"

Daniel was cut off short by a rumbling noise and a shudder that seemed to shake the entire cave system. This time they all recognized it for what it was.

"Jaffer! Jack!"

The rocks came down in almost the exact same place as before, and with just as little warning. As the occupants of the cave dove for what little cover they could find, the cascading rocks buried the far end of the cave, completely and utterly. As soon as it stopped, Jack rolled over, sitting up and then scrambling to his feet, and running back towards the rear of the cave, unconcerned about tripping over the scattered rocks that they'd cleared earlier.

"_Jaffer_!"

Even as his heart sank in the realization that he'd just lost his best friend, Jack heard an answering bark. It was coming from behind the rocks, and was answered immediately by another. Both dogs were alive and well.


	23. 23

Jack waited only for the dust to settle, then he headed back for the pile of rubble and rocks once more, Teal'c and Daniel right beside him.

"You can't stay in here," Braxton told him, almost desperate. "The ceiling is going to cave in even more if-"

"I'm not leaving them behind the rocks," Jack told the villager, already reaching for the first rock. There was still a sense of urgency to get the rocks moved out of the way, but now there was also a ray of hope. If Jaffer and Jack (the dog) were still alive after a cave-in, then there was every reason to believe that Ian had survived as well. Maybe Jaffer was with him even then.

"It's a miracle they're even alive," Aaron said, from the entrance to the cave, looking up at the ceiling. "But you're pressing it by remaining. Surely the-"

"It's not a _miracle_," Jack snapped, heartily tired of the superstition of the villagers. He moved to the side and dropped the rock in his hands before going back to the pile. "There must be a nook or something back there. _Ian's_ probably in it, too."

"It's been several hours…" Braxton said, inching forward and hesitantly reaching for a rock from the pile, all the while watching the ceiling. "If he was alive, he'd have-"

"He's probably just knocked out or something," Jack told him as he grabbed another rock. "If he's unconscious then he's not going to – move Jaffer," he said, interrupting himself as his black lab was suddenly underfoot, sniffing the rock pile and stepping between Jack and the pile of rocks he and the others had made moving the first set of fallen rocks. Jack actually dropped the rock before he realized what he'd just seen, and he looked down again in surprise.

"Jaffer!"

The big lab wagged his tail cheerfully, and Jack crouched down to wrap his arms tightly around him for a long moment. He was dirty and dusty, but it was definitely him. As he ran his hands along the dusty black fur, checking for injuries, O'Neill looked over and saw that Teal'c had grabbed Jack as well, greeting him with a cheerfulness that was almost exclusively reserved for his yellow lab. Both dogs seemed to be fine.

"How did they get out here?" Daniel asked.

"It's a miracle," Peter said. "They came from out here."

"What?"

"I saw them come from the other side of the mound. God has-"

"Come on," Jack interrupted, walking out of the cave, and looking down at Jaffer. Obviously there was _something_ going on, but he was pretty sure it didn't have anything to do with God.

"Where'd you get out, little man?" Jack asked Jaffer, who had followed him out, Jack (the dog) right behind him and the others just as close.

Jack barked excitedly, understanding the question as well, and both dogs scampered off, heading to the right and around the large mound.

Following them, the six of them trotted around to the other side, almost completely the opposite of the entrance to the cave, and saw Jack's blonde butt just vanishing into some heavy brush.

Teal'c moved into the brush first, pushing branches and vines out of the way.

"There is a tunnel, O'Neill."

"What?" Braxton asked. "A tunnel?"

The big Jaffa moved aside, calling Jack and Jaffer to do the same so the others could look. Sure enough, hidden in the brush was a small opening.

"We can get in through here," Jack said, shining his flashlight into the tunnel. "It'll be a tight fit – especially for Teal'c – but we-"

Jaffer made a low wuffing noise deep in his throat, his nose to the ground and his tail wagging furiously. Jack (the dog) was with him in an instant, the yellow lab just as excited about whatever it was they were sniffing. Jack frowned.

"Hey. We've got to get to Ian…"

Jaffer sneezed, not looking at all interested in going back into the tunnel; instead looking off towards the forest – which was getting dark.

"You don't suppose Ian found this tunnel and made his own way out…?" Daniel asked, correctly interpreting the dogs' body language. He'd been around them since they were puppies, after all.

"And wandered off?" Jack asked. "Why would he do that?"

"Perhaps he received a blow to the head…" Teal'c said.

Jack frowned, looking at Jaffer once more. He'd long since learned to trust the lab, but if Jaffer and Jack were wrong and Ian was in the cave, still, this might be their only chance to get him out before the rest of the roof came down on him.

"Where's Ian, Jaffer?"

The black lab bounded off towards the forest, barking excitedly – something he didn't do very often – and then stopping, looking over his shoulder at Jack, his tail wagging so hard that it was bound to fly off and hit someone in the head any minute.

Jack shrugged, and made the decision.

"He must have hit his head or something. Let's go find him before he gets too far away."

Besides, he was probably hurt. And the last thing Jack wanted was for Ian to stumble into one of those snake holes and break his own leg or something.

Jack (the dog) and Jaffer headed off into the forest, and the humans followed the sound of Jack's excited barking.

OOOOOOOOO

"How did you get me all the way out here?"

"I carried you."

Ian looked at the man who was walking beside him. Joshua really wasn't all that much bigger than he was – and Ian knew he wasn't huge by any means. Apparently these people were a lot stronger than they looked.

"How much further is it?"

"Not far."

Ian scowled. That was what he'd said twenty minutes ago. God only knew what was going on at that cave. Jack and the others probably thought he was dead or something, and if they'd been hurt trying to dig him out, Ian was going to be incredibly pissed.

Before he could say something to that effect – and it wouldn't have been the first time – a shadow disengaged from the darkness around them and pelted towards the two of them. Joshua screamed in surprised fear – there wasn't anything like that in the forest, and the form was impossibly large and evil-looking – but even as the villager cringed away, Ian crouched down, recognizing Jaffer immediately.

"Jaffer!"

A moment later the cadet was swarmed under, not only by Jaffer, but by Jack, who had materialized with a joyous bark and had come over to get his own share of attention. Attention Ian was happy to give them, since he was certain that if the dogs weren't in the cave, then Jack and the others weren't either.

Joshua simply stood there, rooted to the ground and uncertain if the boy needed rescuing or not. The creatures were surely mauling him, but he didn't seem to mind.


	24. 24

Finally, Ian had to push Jaffer and Jack (the dog) both away or risk being drowned in slobber. He managed to make it back to his feet, and looked around. Where Jaffer was, Jack (the colonel, not the dog) was. Joshua was looking at the dogs with interest, though – and a little fear.

"What are they?"

He'd already done the whole 'what are they' thing with the little kids in the village, and didn't feel like going through it all over again with Joshua – and then probably Sabrina as well. So he ignored the question.

"Where's Jack, Jaffer?"

The lab barked, looking over his shoulder the way he and Jack (the dog) had come from.

"They _talk_?" Joshua asked, amazed.

"Shut up, Joshua."

Ian walked away, heading the same direction that Jaffer had looked, and the two labs fell into step beside him. Joshua hesitated, but only for a moment, and then followed.

It was full dark by then, and the footing was treacherous with those holes all over the place, but only a few minutes passed before Ian saw flashlights ahead. Jack and Jaffer obviously smelled (or heard) the others, too, because they ran on ahead, and Ian could hear the murmur of voices and a couple of barks.

"Ian!"

"_Here_!"

Ian held still, allowing them to come find him – they had flashlights, after all, and he didn't have shit.

A moment later the dogs were with him again – looking as pleased with themselves as if they'd just struck gold – and Jack and the others came walking up, shining their flashlights in his face, and blinding him.

"You okay?" Jack asked, his voice obviously concerned, although even Ian could hear the relief in it – even though he couldn't see Jack's face.

"Yeah."

"What the hell _happened_?" Now that he was sure Ian was okay, Jack could get mad. "What are you doing out here?"

Ian scowled, looking over his shoulder at his shadow.

"Apparently I was carried out of the cave by Joshua here, who-"

"_Joshua_! What are you doing here?" Braxton asked, interrupting. "Is Alan here as well? What-"

"Braxton…"

Jack was trying to figure out what was going on. They could have their little reunion later.

The villager fell silent, hushed by the annoyance in Jack's voice, and Jack turned back to Ian.

"What _happened_?"

Ian shrugged.

"The ceiling came down on me." That was all he remembered. "Joshua says he carried me out of some tunnel."

Jack looked at the stranger.

"Why didn't you tell us he was _safe_? Do you have any idea just how worried we were about him – not to mention all the rocks that we-"

"I-"

"Oh, wait until you hear _this_, Jack," Ian said, glad that he wasn't the only one who was annoyed at Joshua. "You won't _believe_ who he thinks I am."

"Let me guess…" Jack said, scowling over at Braxton. "_Jesus_?"

"You heard?"

"That's all I've heard all day."

It was obvious that if he weren't so angry just then, Jack probably would have found the situation amusing. And then it got worse.

"Is this your tamed _Jaffa_?" Joshua asked, looking at Teal'c, but addressing Ian.

Ian looked over at him.

"What?"

"Didn't you hear?" Jack asked the cadet. "One of the signs that you're who you're supposed to be is that you've tamed the Jaffa…"

"Oh, _Jesus_…" Ian looked at Teal'c apologetically. "I'm sorry, Teal'c. I swear I didn't say-"

"An apology is unnecessary, Ian Brooks," Teal'c said. He knew Ian never would have said any such thing. Ian was arrogant and cocky, but he never put himself forward in such a manner, Teal'c knew. Especially if it meant making someone interested in him. Teal'c knew Ian better than the boy – or any of the others – probably realized, and knew that the last thing he wanted was the adulation or adoration of others. It went against everything he was. "It is good to see you safe."

"It's good to be safe." He looked at Jack and Daniel. "I was worried you guys might get trapped in that cave yourselves trying to find me – since Joshua didn't bother to tell anyone he'd pulled me out."

Jack scowled at the villager and Joshua instinctively knew that Jack wasn't one to cross.

"I needed his help…" he said, defensively, but he had stepped back a pace or two. Even in the dark it was impossible to miss how mad Jack was.

"For what? Do you know how much of that cave came down after we started moving rocks?" Jack asked, and his voice was furious. Unlike Ian, Jack's anger was controlled – which didn't make it any less, it just made it more dangerous. "We could have all been killed – just because you didn't bother to let us know he was alive."

"I am sorry," Joshua said, sounding a bit contrite – more out of fear of reprisal from this angry man than because he was sorry for what he'd done. Unlike when Ian had threatened him with bodily harm and had been caught in the bluff, Joshua had no doubt that this man was more than capable of truly injuring him for his transgressions. "I needed his help."

"We're out of here," Jack said, looking at Ian. While he hadn't appeared to have taken any serious injury, there was a cut on his head, and he was moving stiffly. "I want to get you looked at by-"

"You can't leave!" Joshua said. "He hasn't kept his end of the bargain."

"What bargain?" Jack asked, wondering what on earth was so damned important to this man that he'd risk angering everyone – including Braxton and the other villagers from the looks of their faces – just to have it done.

"He promised to get my wife pregnant."


	25. 25

Even in the darkness, Ian was fairly certain that the noise he heard was the sound of everyone's head snapping around to look at him. He scowled, looking at Joshua, and then back at Jack.

"That's _not_ what I said, Jack," he said, holding up a hand. "I just told him I'd try to _help_."

He realized that that didn't sound any better, and knew it was true by the look on Daniel's face.

"Look. I didn't mean it like _that_. And they _don't_ want me to-"

"Why don't you start at the beginning?" Jack said. "Then we'll see if we can get this sorted out…"

"It's quite a ways back to the cave," Daniel said. "He can-"

"We must go back to my wife," Joshua interrupted. "She is waiting."

"How far away?" Jack asked Ian.

"About half an hour. Maybe less with flashlights. There's a lean-to of some sort – and a fire."

"The cave is at least an hour, so we'd be better off going back to the lean-to and camping out there for the night." Even with the flashlights the ground was a pain in the ass to walk on because of all the holes.

Joshua looked relieved, and nodded.

"It's not far." He turned and started back the way they'd come, walking slowly to be able to avoid the holes. This became easier when Teal'c moved up to walk beside him, more than willing to take point and use his high-powered flashlight to illuminate the ground they were walking along. Braxton and the other villagers ended up walking close to Teal'c and Joshua as well, while Ian, Jack and Daniel lagged behind just a little.

"Do you have anything to eat?" Ian asked. "I'm starving."

"You don't feel nauseous?" Jack asked, looking at the bruise that had formed around the cut on Ian's forehead. "Light-headed? Any of that?"

"No. Just hungry."

Satisfied that Ian wasn't suffering from a concussion, Jack reached into his pack and pulled out a couple of energy bars, which he handed over to Ian.

"Now… tell me what happened."

Ian shrugged.

"I was looking at the back of the cave when the ceiling came down on me – although I'm pretty sure now that it must have missed me, mostly. I must have been knocked out, because the next thing I remember, I'm stretched out under the lean-to, and being called _Lord_, and the two of them are asking me for help."

"What kind of help?" Daniel asked.

"Why did they carry you off?" Jack asked. "And why was Joshua separate from the other guys?"

"He's not from _their_ village," Ian said. "They told me they're from Alan's village, not Richard's."

"What?"

Ian shrugged. "That's what they said. Joshua said they hoped to find me and ask me for help…" he looked at Daniel. "Apparently last night they had a runner come to their village telling them all about me."

"All about _you_?"

"How I'm supposedly the _son of God_…" Ian shook his head; he wasn't at all amused by any of this. "Something about me being able to heal with a touch…" he trailed off, tripping over a hole because he wasn't paying attention to where he was walking. "Fucking damned holes…"

"We got the same thing," Jack said, shining his light on the ground by Ian so the cadet could see better and watching as Ian started walking again to make sure he hadn't hurt himself. "Something about the son of God coming from east and having strange creatures…"

"Well, the Stargate _is_ east of here, Jack," Daniel said. "And the dogs could be considered strange if you've never seen one – and-"

"And somebody practically forced me to heal that little kid's leg, which _started_ this whole mess," Ian said, interrupting.

Daniel scowled.

"It was the _right_ thing to do."

"You're not the one they're staring at."

"It's-"

"That's enough, guys," Jack said. He could understand where Ian was coming from – although he understood Daniel's stance as well. Right now, though, he just wanted to hear about the woman who they were going to meet. "What happened once you woke up?"

"I found out I wasn't near the cave – and Joshua's wife Sabrina asked me to help them have a baby."

"Yeah…" Daniel interrupted, forgetting he was annoyed at Ian for being a punk about healing Taylor. "What _exactly_ do you mean by that?"

Ian flushed, because he knew what they were both thinking – he'd thought the same thing, after all.

"She can't get pregnant, I guess…" he said, shrugging. "I didn't really stop to find out why…"

"But you promised to do something about it?" Jack asked, surprised.

"I didn't have a _choice_," Ian told him, defensively. "For all I knew you guys were going to get buried under another cave-in trying to find me, and I didn't have a clue how to get back to it without Joshua – who refused to show me until I promised I'd help him. I was pretty fucking desperate…" he said, somewhat apologetically. Jack probably would have figured out a better way to handle things, but Ian hadn't had a clue.

"So what are you thinking of doing?" Daniel asked, curiously. This was a chance to see Ian's ability in action without there being a desperate need for it and Daniel's own desire to see new things – especially amazing things like Ian's healing ability – was in full swing.

Ian shrugged.

"Beats the shit out of me… I can take a look – without actually _looking_…" he added, quickly.

Jack shook his head and looked at his watch. Ian's dilemma wasn't the biggest worry that they had.

"We're going to have to go back at first light," he said. "Otherwise they're going to start worrying about us."

He didn't mean the villagers, either, although they were probably wondering what had happened and might even be sending runners or someone out looking for the group that was supposed to have returned before dark.

"Fine with me," the cadet said, stepping around yet another hole. "The sooner we're out of here the happier I'll be."

Hecouldn't even pick out a present. How the hell was he supposed to solve everyone else's problems, too?


	26. 26

Sabrina gave a frightened cry when Jaffer and Jack (the dog) appeared at her small campsite, but Joshua was close by and quick to reassure her. Jaffer and Jack helped, too, by simply being themselves, and even a frightened villager couldn't help but be charmed when the two labs were flirting outrageously with her. Of course, part of that was that she had several large sticks with meat on them that she'd cooked over her fire to feed Joshua and Ian with when they returned. Like Ian and the others, the dogs hadn't eaten all that much that day, either, and they were at their classic best now, complete with big, mournful eyes and drool.

There wasn't enough to go around, but SG-1 had brought their own supplies and there was plenty of MREs to make a warm, filling meal – which Daniel started immediately, even as Jack filled dishes with food for the dogs so they wouldn't make such a dent in the people food. Jaffer eyed his bowl with a mournful look at Jack, then sighed and started wolfing it down. He was hungry enough to eat what he'd been given, but there was no way he wasn't going to mooch some of Jack's dinner off him as well.

Sabrina watched Ian carefully – almost cautiously – and Jack noticed it, and wondered why she seemed so afraid of him. Of course, there was always the chance she wasn't afraid of _Ian_, but of finding out that there was nothing he could do to help her. As miffed as Jack was about being stuck out in the little camp – and that Joshua had pretty much blackmailed Ian into being forced to try and help – he couldn't help but see a little amusement in the situation, now that he knew Ian was all right and that they'd be able to check in in the morning and not have to tell Hammond that he'd lost a member of his team.

Ian, for his part, was uncomfortable and sullen and he was staying as far away from Sabrina as he could – as if he hoped that she'd forget his promise.

And it almost looked as if she and Joshua had. They didn't mention it through dinner (which was a mixture of MREs and snake meat – added to a few rolls that Sabrina had made while she'd waited for Ian and Joshua to return) and there was no mention of it while they cleaned up the dishes and banked the fire. But when Ian left to go with Teal'c and the dogs to do a quick check of the area before they were going to turn in, Sabrina looked at Joshua.

"Do you think he has forgotten?"

The villager looked at Jack and Daniel, and then at his wife, but before he could answer it was Braxton who spoke up.

"You should be ashamed of yourselves for forcing him into a promise he did not want to make."

Sabrina flushed, but Joshua didn't look repentant.

"We need his help."

"He has better things to do than-"

"Like healing _your son_?"

"I have-"

"Guys." Jack interrupted, not at all willing to listen to an argument. Both men fell silent and looked at him, but Jack looked at Sabrina. "He hasn't forgotten."

She looked down at her hands for a moment, and then up at Jack.

"I don't mean to force him into anything… but I need his help."

"We shouldn't have to _force_ him, anyways," Aaron said from his spot at the back of the lean-to. He and the other villagers had been silent thru out the meal, but had been more than willing to help when they were needed. It was apparent to Jack that the villagers on the planet – at least those in the area – got along fairly well most of the time, because this was the first sign of animosity he'd seen. "He's the _Messiah_," Aaron said, stubbornly. "Don't the legends say he's _supposed_ to come to help us?"

"He's not who you think he is," Jack said, sighing. There was no way he was going to convince them, but he had to keep trying.

"He has strange beasts…"

"The black one is mine and the yellow one belongs to Teal'c."

Joshua looked at Daniel for confirmation, and the archeologist nodded.

"But he's tamed the _Jaffa_," Peter said.

"Teal'c's his own man," Daniel said. "He's our _friend_. That doesn't mean he's _tamed_ – any more than you are. You tame animals, not people."

"He healed my son." Braxton said.

"That doesn't mean he's who you think he is."

"Mortal men cannot heal like that."

"Ian's mortal," Jack said, scowling. "You saw the cut on his head."

"He's a _godling_," Aaron said, stoutly. "He's not _completely_ immortal."

Daniel started to say something, but he was interrupted by the arrival of Ian – without Teal'c or the dogs.

"Where's Teal'c?" Jack asked.

"He's going to collect more wood," Ian said, scowling. It was obvious that he'd heard the arguing – and Jack was sure he'd heard what they had been arguing about. He didn't say anything, though. Instead, he looked at Sabrina. And boy, did he look _uncomfortable_. "Come with me."

"Where are you going?" Joshua asked.

"None of your fucking business."

Daniel frowned, but although Joshua looked like he wanted to know more, everyone could see he was afraid – or at least reluctant – to ask.

Looking frightened, Sabrina rose gracefully to her feet and followed Ian out of the lean-to.

"Don't go too far," Jack called after them.

"We won't."

Daniel started to get up as well, but Jack waved him back to his seat.

"But I want to see how he-"

"Daniel, just leave him alone, okay? He doesn't need an audience."

And it was probably just as well that he not have one. Especially the mood he was in. Jack wasn't even worried that Ian would do anything inappropriate. Not with the mood he was in.

Daniel sighed, but he sat back down. Maybe he could cut his finger or something when they got back to the SGC and have Ian fix that – just to see how it worked.

OOOOOOOO

"Where are we going, my Lord?"

Ian scowled.

"Stop calling me that."

"Forgive me. I-"

"Look, just call me _Ian_, okay? That's my name. It's not that hard to remember."

Jesus, they'd already had this conversation, for crying out loud.

"I'm sorry."

"Fine."

"Where are we-"

"Just out of the light."

"But you won't be able to see-"

"I don't need to. Just do what I say, okay? And don't trip in that hole there. I'm not fixing anything more than I have to."

"I don't understand…"

Ian could barely see her in the faint light of the now somewhat distant little fire – which was fine with him.

"You don't _have_ to understand," he snapped, and then sighed, knowing that he didn't have to be quite such a jerk with her. "Look… just stand still. Okay?"

She nodded, and he could almost feel her nervousness.

"I'm going to touch you. Don't panic, okay?"

When his hand touched her midsection, she did jump a little – and then trembled, and Ian sighed.

"I'm not going to hurt you."

"I know."

She didn't sound like she knew, though. She sounded terrified. And Ian hated that. Even through his anger.

"Stop that."

"I'm sorry."

"And stop apologizing."

"I can't help it." She snapped, sounding annoyed, now. Which was better than having her afraid, at least.

Her breath caught when his hand slid under her loose shirt, and she tensed, becoming so still that he could feel her trembling even more now, but his hand didn't move any higher – or lower.

"I just need contact with bare skin," he explained, closing his eyes. "Hold still."

"Yes, Lord."

He didn't even bother to correct her this time. He'd already started, and he hadn't heard her.


	27. 27

_Author's Note: This chapter might be a little medically graphic. If you don't want to know what goes on inside a woman, you might skim through the first part – and definitely read it before you let any kids read it (although you should be doing that anyways when Ian's involved)._

It wasn't something he'd ever really done. Or even _considered_. The closest he'd come was when he'd checked Sam out – and that was desperation and concern for her and Jake. And Sam had already _been_ pregnant, so Ian hadn't had any problem finding Jake and checking him, and then her. This was different.

At nine years old Ian had been curious about human reproductive systems – not so much _sex_, just where babies came from – and typically he'd done extensive research on the subject. He'd looked through medical books, checking pictures, articles, and everything else he could find that might tell him how things worked. As a result, he had a fair idea what a woman looked like inside – although he'd found it a little gross at nine, and wasn't much more enthused about it now that he was an adult.

It wasn't much like the pictures, though. Oh, some of it was; that was her bladder, and that was her large intestine – ugh – and there was the uterus and other parts. If he hadn't been concentrating so completely, Ian would have been incredibly embarrassed to be looking at the innards of some woman he didn't even know.

His awareness searched through her lower abdomen, looking for something that wasn't right. The body itself knows when there's something that isn't supposed to be there – infections were dealt with by the body's defenses, and materials that had no business being there were almost always absorbed into the system and expelled – and he was looking for some kind of sign that there was something like that going on. There was no sign, however, that her body's defenses were on the rise, which forced Ian to look even deeper.

And then he found it. A mass of flesh attached to the top of her cervix that just plain didn't belong. It was blocking the opening – which explained immediately why she couldn't conceive – and would eventually kill her if not taken care of. Since it was her own flesh, it hadn't drawn any attention from her body's defenses, but the cancer definitely didn't belong where it was, and Ian spent several long, quiet minutes 'staring' at it, trying to figure out what to do about it. He couldn't send the white blood cells after the cancer – they'd never attack her. It wasn't what they did, after all.

Unless he figured out a way to trick them into thinking that that flesh didn't belong…

Which meant that he needed to change the cancer into something else. Something that would trigger the alarms in her body, because aside from cutting it out – unthinkable – Ian wasn't going to be able to do anything about it himself. He wasn't _God_, after all, despite what they thought. He _was_ brilliant, though, and it didn't take him long to decide that there was something he could do. He opened the small pores in the skin of her belly, and allowed his own DNA to seep into her system from his hand. Instead of sporadically going wherever it wanted to, though, Ian directed it delicately to the cancer and inundated that mass of flesh with his own signature. Which immediately attracted Sabrina's defenses to the spot. He made sure that there was no way his DNA could be separated from the mass – tightly binding it to the mass until there was no way they could come apart. Then he marshaled the defenses, sending white blood cells swarming to the area where they immediately attacked the mass, already starting to break it down and take care of it.

Waiting until he was certain they weren't going to lose that fight – and Sabrina was a healthy young woman who was more than capable of fighting off infections – Ian decided that he'd better take a closer look at the rest of her body. Where cancer was involved, there was always a chance that it could have spread elsewhere – or it might have spread from somewhere else. He just wanted to make sure.

He took his time, ignoring the fact that he was standing – and so was she – and they had been for some time. His hand didn't need to move, either. He already had contact with her, so it was simply a matter of sending his mind through her systems, checking all the normal places; lungs, heart, all the other organs and then her brain and bloodstream. It all looked clear to him. Another quick look to make sure that the mass was being taken care of, and Ian pulled himself away with a tired sigh.

Sabrina hadn't moved a muscle despite the length of time they had been standing there. For one thing, she'd been afraid to. She wasn't sure what he was doing, but he wasn't touching her in an awkward fashion and he hadn't moved his hand from where it had been placed. She felt a flush of heat, but it didn't come from her abdomen; it was just a flush of heat. She didn't know it, but that was the moment that her immune system had kicked in full gear, raising her temperature and causing her to sweat slightly.

Another reason she didn't move was because she wasn't sure if he would fall if she moved. He hadn't moved, either, but as the time had passed he'd ended up leaning against her slightly, and when he finally pulled away, he actually stumbled.

Sabrina reached out to catch him automatically, but Ian had caught himself and he pulled away.

"Thanks. I'm okay."

"What happened, Lor- _Ian_?"

Ian ignored the question, and turned, heading for the fire and the lean-to. Surprisingly – or maybe not – Jaffer materialized out of the dark and took up a position right beside the cadet, who reached down and ran his hand along the silky black fur.

"Ian?" Sabrina repeated, hesitating in the darkness. She didn't want to go back until she knew what had happened.

He sighed, and stopped.

"How do you feel?"

"Warm."

"Yeah. That's the infection healing."

"_Infection_?"

"Sabrina, I need to sit down…" He didn't want to stop and talk just then. "Please?"

He was too tired to be angry, but she didn't know that, so she hurried to catch up with him.

OOOOOOOO

Everyone looked up when they reentered the light of the fireplace, and Joshua came to his feet immediately, looking at Sabrina as if to ask her what had happened. Daniel and Jack both looked at Ian, while Jaffer moved from Ian's side and headed to Jack's side.

"You okay?" Jack asked the cadet. In the firelight Ian's face was in shadows, and his dark eyes were hard to see, much less read.

Ian nodded, and flopped down on his bedroll as Teal'c and Jack (the dog) came into the firelight just then as well. Ian had a sudden suspicion that the Jaffa had been guarding him in the dark – just in case something tried to sneak up on them.

"Yeah," Ian said, taking a canteen from Daniel and taking a long drink.

"Did you heal her?" Joshua asked, his arm protectively around Sabrina, who had settled down on her own blankets. Jack wondered why she looked so flushed and sweaty.

"She's going to need a chance to rest and someone to take care of her."

"Why?" Daniel asked, curiously, looking at Joshua's wife. She'd seemed more than healthy enough when they'd met.

"_I_ will take care of her," Joshua said. That was his responsibility, anyways – and his pleasure. She _was_ his wife, after all.

Jack had noticed that Ian had sidestepped the question – and had done it pretty well. He was more than willing to let him get away with it, but Daniel wasn't. Or hadn't noticed.

"What was wrong with her?" The archeologist asked.

Ian leaned back against his pack. He was tired as shit.

"It was cancer."

"Oh, God."

Joshua and the other villagers looked concerned – even though none of them had a clue what that meant.

"You said _was_?" Jack asked.

Ian's eyes were closed, but he nodded.

"I think I figured out a way to get rid of it… I'll make sure in the morning."

"Cancer?" Joshua repeated, still concerned. "What is cancer?"

Ian didn't answer, though. He'd already dozed off.


	28. 28

While Daniel tried to explain what cancer was – in easy terms that they could understand, considering how behind they were medically – Jack moved over to make sure Ian was really okay. He was getting used to the cadet being wiped out after the healing thing, but it was still unnerving to see someone so young and fit suddenly exhausted, and Jack wanted make sure. After all, it'd been _cancer_, right? That probably wasn't the easiest thing in the world to heal.

"Is he all right?" Braxton asked, softly, watching as Jack covered Ian up with a blanket. The villager wasn't as interested in what had been wrong with Sabrina as everyone else was. He was more concerned that Ian was in good shape. And was beginning to have his doubts that the boy was really who they thought he was. After all, the son of God shouldn't be tired from a simple healing, should he?

"Sure." Jack answered, not at all willing or ready to go into details on Ian's abilities or the drawbacks to it. "He just needs some sleep."

"Will he-"

"We _all_ need some sleep," Jack said, cutting Braxton off and saying it loud enough for everyone to hear him. "It's been a long day, and we need to get started as soon as it's light."

Daniel nodded, and broke off the conversation – he'd spent the day moving rocks, after all, and he was sore and more than ready for some sleep, too. Much to the villager's disappointment, he moved over to his own bedroll and lay down.

"I will take first watch, O'Neill," Teal'c offered, knowing that the colonel was probably sore from the exertions of the day. He was moving stiffly, at any rate.

Jack nodded his agreement and headed for his own blankets, knowing if anything odd happened Jaffer would give him plenty of notice.

"Wake me up in four hours."

And he went to sleep.

OOOOOOOOO

A cold nose pressed up against his neck, followed by a wet wuffling noise. Ian groaned, and rolled over, trying to avoid it. And heard Jack's amused voice.

"Do it again, Jaffer."

The cold nose followed him, and this time it was joined by another, and a heavy weight as Jack (the dog) stepped on Ian in his eagerness to get close as well. And then another paw – this time right in the groin. Which woke Ian up immediately, even as tired as he was.

"Gah…"

Blindly he wrapped his arms around whichever dog it was – he still hadn't opened his eyes, but to judge by the size it was Jack – and rolled over again, pulling the dog with him and hugging him close – more out of a need for protection than to keep warm, although now that he was more or less awake, he could feel a distinct chill in the air.

"Rise and shine," Jack said, shaking the cadet's shoulder with just a little sympathy. He'd seen where Jack's (the dog) foot had landed, and knew from experience (Jaffer had done it to him several times) that it hurt. "Lots to do."

Ian opened his eyes, feeling just a little grumpy, a lot tired and almost as hungry as he was tired.

"What time is it?"

"Does it matter?" Daniel asked, amused at the question. "It's morning here and late evening at the SGC."

Good point. It didn't matter.

"Breakfast?" Jack asked, looking far too chipper for the time of day as far as Ian was concerned.

He let Jack (the dog) go, and sat up, looking around. None of the villagers were in the lean-to, although the rest of SG-1 was; all of them looking as if they were ready to get going. Ian felt like going… back to bed.

"Yeah. Breakfast."

Jack handed him a Powerbar.

"You can eat as we walk."

"Where's everyone else?"

"Josh and his wife –"

"Sabrina," Ian said.

"Sabrina… left for their village as soon as the sun was up enough that they could see."

Ian scowled. There was gratitude for you; they hadn't even fucking said goodbye.

"Sabrina was worried that her family would be worried about them not returning and might come looking for them," Daniel explained, noticing Ian's scowl and correctly interpreting it. "They said to tell you thanks and that they're going to name their first child after you."

Jack smiled.

"We weren't sure if they meant Jesus or Ian – but hopefully it'll be a boy since neither name is fitting for a girl, really."

Ian's scowled deepened.

"Funny."

Jack's smile grew. _He_ thought he was funny.

"The others are waiting to escort us back to the village," Daniel said. "They're looking for snakes or something right now..."

"I don't want to go back to the village," Ian said, grumpily. "Don't we need to check in yet?"

"We're not sticking around there," Jack assured him. "We're getting close to being overdue – only the fact that the days are shorter here is keeping us from already being late – and you're right; we do need to check in."

And they'd probably not bring Ian back. Not only because he looked tired – and he was sure Janet Fraiser wouldn't allow Ian offworld without a decent meal and a good night's sleep – but because Jack knew the godling talk annoyed Ian just as much as it was annoying Jack. Hopefully they could turn this whole whacked out planet over to a different SG team. Besides, he ached from the labors of the day before and really wanted a chance to get a hot soak and maybe talk Sam into a backrub.

Looking only slightly mollified by that, Ian nodded and pushed himself out of his blankets, already unwrapping the energy bar Jack had given him. He shoved it in his mouth completely, and started rolling his blankets. They couldn't get out of here fast enough to suit him!


	29. 29

"Are you _certain_ you have to leave?" Braxton asked several hours later as they were beginning to approach the village. "You only just arrived…"

Jack nodded, glancing over at Ian, who was walking beside him. The cadet was almost asleep on his feet – although he hadn't complained or anything since they'd started walking – and Jack was anxious to get him back to the SGC before he collapsed.

"Yeah, we need to get back," he told Braxton. "We have to check in with our people and let them know what we've found here."

"And then what?" Aaron asked, looking at Ian. "Will you return?"

Considering Jack knew Ian would rather eat a bowl of salt, he was impressed that the cadet simply shook his head.

"I don't know. Probably not."

"Oh."

"But _someone_ will," Daniel said. "I might."

He was hoping to, anyways, because there was still plenty of things left to learn about – and he was really curious about what else they might have found in the cave. Maybe if he brought back a team of excavators or something – someone to help keeps the ceiling from coming down on them and help move the rocks that had already fallen – he'd have a chance to see what was written on the back wall of the cave and maybe learn more about why these folks had been brought from the Americas. There was so much he wanted to know, and the cave had to hold the answers.

Ian scowled, well aware that if Daniel returned chances were he was going to have to come, too. Not that these people didn't beat the shit out of being chased by Jaffa and shot at, but being called God – or _Jesus_, or whatever – wasn't much better. He didn't like it.

"Will you come and say goodbye?" Braxton asked, as they all stopped on the very outskirts of the village – just out of sight of the lodges. "I know that Taylor would like to thank you," he added, looking at Ian.

"No," Jack said, much to Ian's relief. "We're already running behind." He offered the villager his hand. "It was nice meeting you."

And really, it hadn't been _that_ bad, had it?

The villager beamed, and shook hands with the others – as did Aaron and Peter, who reverently took Ian's hand, making the cadet's scowl deepen and causing Jack to smile – just a little. He couldn't help himself.

OOOOOOOOO

"You sure you know the way?"

"Yes."

"Positive?"

"Yes."

"Because I don't want to get lost."

"I'm not going to get us lost, Jack."

"We could always go back and have the villagers give us a guide."

"We don't need a guide, Daniel. I know the way."

"You're tired, though. Maybe you-"

"Daniel, I know the way, okay? Just keep walking this way and we'll be at the gate in less than an hour."

Of course he knew the way. He'd already been here, right? Once Ian had been someplace, he could find his way back to it – as long as he'd been watching the directions they'd gone and could spot any landmarks his mind made for him as he catalogued directions and distances as he went someplace new.

"Just don't fall asleep on us," Jack said.

"I won't."

He wanted to, though. And he was still hungry – although he didn't pull anything to snack on out of his pack, since he knew a full stomach would just make him that much more tired. Better to be hungry and awake. Oh well, it wouldn't be too long, now.

OOOOOOOOOO

"It shouldn't be too long, now, Sam."

Sam nodded, and tried to look like she wasn't worried. Usually if something bad was going to happen on a mission it happened within the first couple of hours – and they would have certainly had word from Jack or the others if something had happened.

"I know, Janet."

Which didn't make her any less anxious to get them all home safe. This was the worst part of not being out there with SG-1 anymore; she hated waiting more than anything, and never felt more helpless.

"Ian's with them."

Sam smiled. She must really have looked worried if Janet was bringing up Ian.

"I'm fine, Janet. Really. It's not like they're late, or anything."

They were getting close to it, though.

Janet nodded, and looked over to the basinet, where Jake was sleeping soundly.

"Why don't we go get some lunch?"

Sam looked over at the basinet as well, an automatic reaction. Seeing that her son was asleep, and knowing that the medical staff would make sure someone was always around in case he woke up, she nodded.

"Sounds good."

They'd no more than told the staff where they were going, however, and had just headed out the door and down the corridor when alarms started blaring.

Janet looked at Sam and smiled.

"Right on time."

Sam smiled as well.

"It can't be them, then… I don't think Jack's ever been on time for anything."

Nonetheless, the two women headed for the command center at a quick trot.

OOOOOOOO

"It's SG-1, sir," the sergeant at the computer said, looking over his shoulder at Hammond, who had come down the stairs from his office at the first sound of the alarm.

"Open the iris."

As the iris opened, Major O'Neill and Doctor Fraiser both entered the room, and Hammond nodded.

"It's SG-1, Major. No alerts, so chances are they're not being chased."

Which was a relief.

The three of them headed for the stairs leading to the gate level, and by the time they walked through the heavily guarded door SG-1 was already emerging from the gate. First the dogs, who wagged their tails cheerfully when they saw where they were, and then Daniel and Ian and finally Jack and Teal'c. All of them were on their feet and none seemed to be limping – which was a wonder on its own.

Sam smiled, bracing herself when Jaffer came charging over to her, all his training forgotten at the excitement of seeing his Sam after two whole days. He whuffled her and snuffled her and pretty much did everything but knock her down and lick her to death.

"Jaffer."

Jack was amused at the greeting – it never got old to see the big lab so happy to see Sam – and wished that he could get away with greeting her like that, too. When Jaffer pulled away with a quick hello for Janet and Hammond as well, Sam met Jack's brown eyes, learning from the expression in them that everything was fine, and receiving a reminder of just how much he loved her. She felt warmed to her very core, and returned the look, losing herself in the moment.

"How did it go?" Hammond asked as Jack led the others down the ramp.

O'Neill snorted, casting an amused glance at Ian, who scowled immediately. Even around the scowl, the General decided the cadet looked a lot more tired than the rest of the team – and wondered what the story was behind that.

"Oh, it was unforgettable, sir," Jack said.

"Get checked out," Hammond told them, gesturing towards Fraiser. "Debriefing is in an hour."

"Yes, sir."


	30. 30

Author's Note: Sorry this took so long to get out... it's been so hot here, I really haven't felt like doing much of anything but sitting around. Even work is actually a chore lately!)

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A half hour later SG-1 walked into the briefing room, cleaned and freshly showered – without Ian Brooks, but with Sam. Hammond frowned; not because Sam was there – he'd expected that – but because Ian wasn't.

"Where's Cadet Brooks?"

"Doctor Fraiser won't release him, sir."

"What? Why not?"

Jack sat down, and the others followed suit.

"Because he's tired and she wants to make sure he's all right," Daniel said.

"He's fine, sir," Jack said. "It's just that whole healing thing again."

"Healing?" Hammond echoed. "Who did he heal?" He looked at Jack and Daniel, obviously trying to determine who had been injured and had needed Ian's help.

"Not us," Daniel said, quickly. "One of the villagers on the planet fell and broke his leg. A little boy."

"You met the people?" Hammond asked. "Did you find out how they use the rocks in the carvings?"

Daniel frowned.

"No. But I'd like to go back. Without Ian, though."

"What? Why?" Hammond wondered if Ian had caused trouble on the mission, although Jack O'Neill didn't look annoyed or anything – which he would have if he'd been upset with one of the members of his team. Especially the most junior of them. Instead, he looked a little amused.

"Ian's a bit of a distraction to the villagers, sir," Jack said.

"Why's that, Colonel?"

"Because they seem to think he's Jesus Christ."

Hammond was waiting for the smirk that would tell him Jack was joking, but it didn't come. And Sam O'Neill looked surprised, too. Not like she would if she thought Jack was joking around.

"Say again?"

"They believe he's the Son of God, sir."

"Why on Earth would they think _that_?" Hammond asked, frowning.

"And how would they know about Jesus Christ, anyways?" Sam asked.

"Because they're the descendants of the Roanoke Colony," Daniel said.

"What?"

"The Roanoke Colony was the first British Colony to be established in the Americas," Daniel explained. "But they-"

"Wait." Hammond didn't really mind so much getting a history lesson, but he wanted things to be in order. "Why don't you start at the beginning?"

"Well, the English wanted to establish-"

"Daniel."

Daniel looked at Jack.

"He means the beginning of the _mission_."

"Thank you, Colonel."

_Now_ Jack smirked, and Sam couldn't help but smile, even though she was really curious to hear what had happened while they'd been gone.

Jack looked at Daniel, giving him the go ahead to start the story. He and Teal'c would pick things up wherever they might be needed, but Daniel knew more about the colony and the villagers – the Brish.

So Daniel started telling Hammond and Sam what they'd done once they left the SGC, and he not surprising any of them, he didn't get through it without several interruptions.

"You let him heal the boy right there in the open?" Hammond asked, frowning. No wonder they thought something was up with Ian.

"He was just a little _boy_, General," Daniel said before Jack could say anything. "It was the right thing to do. If the leg hadn't healed properly the boy could have been a cripple for the rest of his life, and then he might not have been able to get a wife from one of the other villages, or be able hunt or run properly, or be able to support-"

"I'm more worried about the fact that it was done in the _open_, Doctor Jackson," Hammond said. "Why didn't you put the boy to sleep or something first? I suppose he saw what happened?"

Daniel looked chagrined.

"Yes."

"Oh, yeah," Jack agreed. "He definitely saw it. It _was_ a good way to get a chance to see the villagers, though – probably the only way." Although Jack hadn't been all for healing the kid, he was going to give Daniel credit where it was due. "But they were definitely giving Ian some odd looks…"

"I bet he loved that…" Sam said.

Jack smiled, but didn't say anything. Of course, he didn't have to; the look said it all.

"Tell me about these people," Hammond requested, and Daniel launched into the story of how they found out about the cave, and what little they'd discovered there, and then about the cave-in and how they'd thought they'd lost Ian under the rocks and had spent the day trying to dig him out only to find out he hadn't been there in the first place.

Sam and General Hammond listened with interest, but not concern. After all, they'd both seen Ian and knew he was alive and well.

"So what happened then?" Sam asked, curiously.

"We followed the dogs, who had Ian's trail pretty quick, and found Ian and another one of the villagers-"

"From a different village," Jack interrupted.

"From a different village," Daniel said. "And found out it was this other guy – Joshua – who took Ian."

Hammond frowned, and Jack knew what was coming next.

"I don't understand, though. Why didn't this Joshua tell you that Ian was okay? Why take him off somewhere else when he had to know you were looking for him?"

"He wanted Ian to get his wife pregnant," Daniel explained, knowing full well that that little comment was going to be taken just as wrong by Hammond and Sam as it had been when SG-1 had first heard it.

And sure enough, both of them stared.

"He just wanted _help_," Jack explained, unable to hide his own mirth at their expressions. "He didn't want Ian to do everything…"

"Why am I afraid to ask what happened next?" Sam asked.


	31. 31

"It's not the opening line to a porno," Jack assured her.

"No, it was perfectly innocent," Daniel agreed. "The village we stayed in had apparently sent runners to… um… spread the news about Ian's healing ability…"

"Which has what to do with getting this Joshua person's wife pregnant?" Hammond asked, confused.

"They'd been trying to get her pregnant, and apparently decided Ian could heal her – or maybe just _cause_ her to become pregnant, I'm not really sure what they'd been thinking…"

"It turned out," Daniel said, before Jack could continue, "That Sabrina had cancer."

"Cancer?" Sam asked. "How do you know that?"

"Ian told us."

"What?"

"_After_ he cured it," Daniel said, smiling, now.

"_He cured Cancer_?" Sam repeated, awed.

"He didn't _cure_ Cancer," Jack said, shaking his head. "He just healed a woman that he _said_ had Cancer… It might not have been; it could have just been a lump of something, I didn't really-"

"Which would be _Cancer_," Daniel said.

"Ian's _not_ a doctor," Jack said. "He could have been wrong about what it was."

"He's not wrong very often," Daniel said, stubbornly. "Think about it, you guys… we've found a cure for Cancer! _Cancer_."

Jack frowned. He could understand why Daniel was so excited, but it was out of place.

"It's not a cure, Daniel. It's _Ian_. What do you think he's going to do? Go from person to person and-"

"I want to hear more about these people," Hammond said, cutting the argument off before it could begin.

"That's all we really know, sir," Jack said. "We had to get back before you guys began to get worried."

"But we definitely should go back," Daniel said. Again.

Hammond frowned.

"Are you considering bringing these people back to Earth, Doctor Jackson? I-"

"Of course not, General. They'd never be able to adapt themselves to society as we know it – even if we found a place large enough to put them that would be out of harm's way until they were introduced to the new world they found themselves in."

"Then why-"

"I want to look in that cave again."

"The one that _collapsed_ twice…"

It was Daniel's turn to frown.

"We could work around that."

"With help from the villagers?"

Everyone in the room could see that Hammond wasn't too enthusiastic about an idea that put his people in danger again, and he wasn't able to see how some natives would be able to help keep SG-1 from being buried in falling rocks. Even without the distraction of having Ian with them.

Daniel hesitated, and then shrugged.

"I don't know. I just _really_ want to see what-"

"Did you even see the villagers using those rocks that you were interested in?"

"No."

"So the mission was a waste of time."

"We found a society of people who-"

"Who will never be able to come back to Earth – you said it yourself."

"But we can _learn_ from them," Daniel said, frustrated. "We don't even know who brought them there, or _why_."

"Ian Brooks mentioned that there was some Ancient writing on the back wall," Teal'c said, speaking up for the first time. "Perhaps the Ancients had something to do with the relocation of the-"

"Good point," Daniel said, jumping on that, triumphantly. "If the Ancients had a reason-"

Hammond held up his hand to stop Daniel.

"I'll think about it, Doctor Jackson."

"But-"

"I said I'd think about it. For now, get some rest and we'll discuss this tomorrow."

Daniel started to say something, but Hammond stood up, effectively ending the briefing. He wanted a chance to think about this – and weigh the risks. And wanted to go make sure Ian Brooks was okay.

Daniel looked like he wanted to argue, but he didn't. Instead, he sighed and stood up as well, scowling as he watched Hammond disappear into his office.

"I'm going to go look some things up and see-"

"Why don't you call Sally and let her know you're going to be home for dinner?" Sam asked, interrupting him and reminding him that he wasn't the footloose and fancy-free archeologist that he once had been. And reminding him that he really _had_ missed Sally while he was gone.

He nodded.

"I'll do that. Thanks, Sam."

She smiled, and hooked her arm through Jack's as they both stood up as well.

"We'll see you tomorrow, Daniel."

OOOOOOOOO

"I'm _fine_, you know?"

Janet nodded, shining a pen light into Ian's eyes and frowning.

"I know."

She did. He was tired, but there wasn't anything wrong with him, and she knew it. He just needed some sleep – and she was inclined to let him go home to get it. He didn't need supervision, after all, and she couldn't think of any reason to argue about it. But she did have a couple of conditions.

"You look like hell."

"Just tired."

"A night in the infirmary will put you right."

Ian scowled, just like she'd known he would.

"I'm not sick."

"I know."

"Then why do I have to stay in the infirmary?"

God_damn_ Daniel, anyways. This was all his fault.

"Because I don't want to risk you falling asleep driving home."

"So if someone drove me home…?" He asked, hopefully.

"Then I'd be willing to release you – as long as you promised to _sleep_."

Like he had to promise that? As tired as he was?

"I'd sleep."

"Then-"

"How's he doing, doc?" Jack asked from behind Janet. He and Sam had just entered the room – not only to check on Ian, but also to gather up Jake so they could go home.

"He's fine, Colonel. I'm going to let him go home."

"You _are_?"

Ian scowled, but Janet just smiled at the shock in Jack's voice.

"If someone is willing to drive him home."

"I'll take him," Sam said. "Jack can meet me at the apartment and take me home from there, so Ian has his car for tomorrow."

Jack nodded his agreement. It wasn't _that_ far out of the way, after all, and it was better than making him stay in the infirmary.

"Sure you don't mind?" Janet asked her. "I could take him…"

Which had been her original intentions. She could have had Emmett pick her up at Ian's.

Sam smiled.

"And miss the opportunity to drive the _Son of God_ home…?"

Ian groaned and covered his eyes, and Janet looked over at her friend, curiously.

"What?"

"You mean he didn't tell you?"

Janet looked at Ian, who was looking for a pillow to smother himself with.

"Tell me what?"

"I'll tell you all about it while Ian gets ready to go…"

It was way too good to keep to herself, after all!

Ian sighed.


	32. 32

"Don't fall asleep…"

Ian opened his eyes, and shook his head, looking over at Sam. She was behind the wheel of his car and they'd just pulled out of the main gate. Right behind them was Jack's truck, Jaffer in the front passenger seat, and Jake in his car seat behind his father.

"I won't."

Sam smiled, thinking he looked tired enough to do just that and decided that she'd better keep talking, or they were going to end up toting him up to his apartment.

"Son of God, huh…"

Ian scowled, like Sam had known he was going to. He'd already put up with a few smirks from Janet as Sam had told the story – what little she knew – and Sam knew he was never going to live it down. Especially with Jack in on things.

"It's all Daniel's fault."

"Yeah?"

"He nagged me to heal that little kid."

"You wouldn't have healed him if Daniel hadn't nagged?"

Ian hesitated and then shrugged.

"Maybe. I didn't get much chance to decide."

"Daniel's a good guy, Ian. He's a little enthusiastic, sometimes, but his heart is definitely in the right place."

"I know." He just didn't like to be the guy that always had to put up with the shit at the end of it.

"What about the woman you helped…? You didn't want to help her?"

He sighed.

"I didn't have any choice. Her husband pretty much blackmailed me into helping – he wouldn't help me find that cave if I didn't help his wife."

"But you wouldn't have helped her for any other reason?"

Sam knew she was doing her own form of nagging, but she also knew that Ian was a better guy than he thought he was, and she wanted him to have to admit it.

"No."

Sam looked over at him and caught his eye, holding the look longer than she might have if not for the fact that they were at a stop sign. Long enough that Ian finally sighed and broke the contact.

"Fine. I _might_ have…"

She smiled as they started moving again, and Ian scowled, knowing that she'd managed to get some kind of concession from him that he hadn't planned on giving.

"Did you think of anything to get Cassie?" Sam asked, mercifully changing the subject. Of course, this one wasn't any better. Cassie's graduation ceremony was the next evening, and Ian was getting close to being desperate.

"No…" He hadn't had a lot of time to figure it out, of course, but that wasn't any excuse, since he'd had months to think about it and was pretty sure he was the lousiest boyfriend in the world.

If he hadn't been less tired he might have been able to hide his desperation, but Sam picked it up easily and patted his leg, reassuringly.

"Want to go shopping tomorrow?"

He looked over at her, surprised.

"Really?"

"Why not?"

He hadn't even considered actually asking Sam to take him out looking, but Sam knew Cassie better than almost anyone – certainly better than Ian did. At least when it came to her tastes and what she'd like. Besides, Sam was a woman, and would know if something was tacky or not, where Ian pretty much thought anything that wasn't white or plain was loud.

"That'd be great, Sam, thanks."

The relief in his voice made her smile, and she pulled into the parking area of his apartments only minutes later, her passenger still awake. Jack pulled the truck into the space next to the car, and both engines turned off.

"Thanks for the ride," Ian said as he got out of the car and looked over at her.

"Want us to walk you up?" Jack asked, leaning out of his window.

"Nah. I'm not going to fall asleep between here and there."

_Probably_.

Sam tossed him his keys, which he caught neatly.

"We'll see you in the morning."

"Yes, Ma'am."

They watched until he vanished, and then Jack reached out and brushed his hand against the back of Sam's neck.

"Get in the truck, Major. I want to go home."

She smiled.

"Yes, Sir."

OOOOOOO

Normally Ian didn't take the elevator up to his apartment. There were stairs, and he preferred the stairs. But he wasn't going to take the stairs this time. Instead he headed for the elevator and pushed the button for his floor, already debating whether to eat something before sleeping or just dropping into bed, and decided sleep was pretty much more important than anything else just then.

When he opened the door to his apartment, though, he found one of the very few exceptions to that. Cassie was sitting on his couch, her bare feet tucked up under a cushion and a can of soda sitting on his coffee table. She smiled when he walked in, and Ian hesitated at the door, surprised to see her.

"Hey."

She had a key to his place. Mainly because someone needed to feed his fish (well, technically they were _Daniel's_ fish), and because she'd come for a surprise visit once and had ended up stranded outside his door when it had become apparent that he wasn't home. His neighborhood wasn't all that bad of one, but Ian had immediately given her a key so she'd never have to stand outside again.

But this was the first time she'd ever been waiting for him.

"Hi."

"Surprised to see me?"

He nodded, walking over and leaning over the back of the couch to give her a kiss. Not because he really wanted a kiss, but because he knew his greeting hadn't been all that enthusiastic, and he knew a kiss would reassure her that he wasn't upset that she was there. She smiled, and ran her hand along his cheek, studying his face.

"You look tired."

"Yeah."

"Mission go okay?"

"It was nuts. Does your mom know you're here?"

"I left her a note."

She was 18, after all, and didn't have to ask permission to go anywhere, now. Especially since she was graduating the next day. Which was something she'd wanted to talk to Ian about – hence the whole point of waiting for him at his place when she knew he was due back sometime that evening. She patted the spot beside her, silently asking him to join her.

"We need to talk."


	33. 33

At those words Ian hesitated, noticeably.

"What's wrong?" Cassie asked him, noticing it immediately.

He forced a smile, but felt like he was on the defensive, even though she hadn't said anything yet.

"Those words always seem to start a conversation that ends with 'we can still be friends…'"

Instead of smiling like he'd figured she would, Cassie gave him a serious look that made his stomach clench.

"Do you _want_ to break up with me?"

"What?"

His mind was racing as he tried to remember anything he'd said that might have started this, but he honestly couldn't think of a thing.

"Are you unhappy with us…?" Cassie asked him.

"No," he said, honestly, confused. "Why would you ask such a thing?"

"We haven't dated all that long…"

"You're tired of me already?"

That hadn't taken long, had it? No matter how much he expected this day to come, Ian hadn't expected it so soon, and he wasn't prepared for the ache he felt in his stomach. Almost like he was going to be sick.

"I'm not tired of you, Ian," she said, reading his expression and feeling a glimmer of hope, although she was better at hiding her emotions than he was. "I just need to know where we're going…"

"I don't understand."

"I bullied you into dating me."

"What? No you didn't. I-"

Cassie smiled.

"Yes, I did. I saw you, and wanted you, and went for you – even though you'd made it perfectly clear that you weren't interested in dating anyone. Especially me."

"It wasn't like-"

"I got what I wanted. _You_. Gorgeous. Brilliant. Responsible. Matu-"

"An arrogant asshole."

"Don't interrupt me, Ian, it's rude."

Of course, she made no mention of the fact that she'd already interrupted him several times.

"You're _not_ an asshole," Cassie continued, reaching out and touching his leg. "But I do wonder if you're regretting me bullying you into being my boyfriend…"

Ian frowned.

"What makes you think that? I've never said-"

"No." she interrupted him, again. "You're good to me. If I need held, you're there. If I need _help_, you're there. If I need loved… well, you get the point."

Now he was confused.

"Then why-"

"I'm leaving soon for college."

"I know."

"And I don't have anything from you."

"What?"

Cassie scowled.

"What was the last thing you bought me?"

"Dinner."

"And before that? Do you remember?"

Of course he did.

"Flowers."

"And before that?"

"What are you getting at, Cassandra?"

"Every present you've ever bought me is something ethereal – non-tangible. Flowers wilt and eventually have to be thrown away. Dinner gets eaten, and that's the end of it. Candy, movies, stuff like that are all enjoyable – especially with you – but they don't last. I don't have a single gift from you that I can touch, or hold – or take out at night when I'm missing you and use it to feel closer to you. And I know you've done that on purpose."

He didn't deny it. It was, after all, the truth – but he hadn't thought she'd notice.

"I didn't want you to feel tied down to me."

"What?"

Now it was her turn to be confused.

"You're going off to school, and you're going to meet a lot of guys. Smart guys, who aren't assholes, and aren't so distracted by other things that they'll barely have time for you, and will know how to know what you need without asking. Eventually, you're going to realize the mistake you made, and I figured if there was nothing tying you to me – nothing material – it'd make it easier for you to break up."

She stared at him.

"Are you out of your mind?"

"No. I'm just looking out for you."

"Ian Michael Brooks, that is the _stupidest_ thing I've ever heard." She got to her feet and glared down at him, angrier than he'd ever seen her before. "What the hell makes you think that I've made a mistake? Do I look so stupid to you that you don't think I can figure out for myself what I want?"

"I-"

"Do you honestly think I'm too retarded to know how I feel?"

"Cassan-"

"I happen to think I made a pretty good choice, mister, and if you have even a quarter of the smarts that all the people around you think you do, you'll get me something to prove it. A sweater. Or a ring. Or a necklace, or earrings, or a hat, or shoes or even a _goddamned_ Chia Pet."

"But-"

"I'm not a child," she said, her eyes flashing angrily. "You of all people should know that."

"I know you're-"

"Then stop treating me like one! I'm not so fickle that I'm going to go off to college and throw myself into the arms of the first guy that comes along, you know. Do you _really_ think so little of me?"

"No, of course I-"

"Then you'd better prove it," she told him. "And I _mean_ it."

She didn't say another word. Instead she stalked to the door, opened it and left, slamming it behind her.

Eyes wide, and feeling as if someone had just whacked him in the back of the head with a tree trunk, Ian stared at the door for a long time.


	34. 34

Janet Frasier frowned when Ian Brooks presented himself for his mandatory physical the next morning. He looked almost as tired as he had when he'd left the day before, and while he was never as tanned as River Hayden (and really, who was?) he was more pale than normal.

"Why do I think you haven't slept?" She asked him.

"I slept."

"All night?"

"No."

He couldn't have lied to her anyways, so he didn't even bother to try. He'd actually sat up a long time, trying to figure out how he was supposed to fix things between him and Cassie – which of course he didn't want to tell Fraiser – and had finally fallen asleep on the couch only because his body had finally said enough was enough and he'd drifted off. And he'd had a hell of a time getting up the next morning.

Janet studied him for a moment, her expression unreadable. Finally, she spoke.

"Why do I get the feeling this has something to do with Cassie coming home angry and moody last night?"

Ian scowled.

"I didn't do anything."

"I didn't say you did."

Oh, yeah. He was just so used to being on the defensive with Janet Fraiser about his relationship with her daughter that he'd assumed she was jumping him.

"Sorry."

The apology was unexpected, and told Janet that whatever it was that had happened, it had thrown Ian for a loop, because he was looking baffled. Which was how Cassandra made her feel a lot of the time, too, so she could relate.

"Want to talk about it?"

He didn't. But in a way, he did. Frasier knew Cassie best, after all – even better than Sam did. Maybe she'd be able to give him advice. Of course, Ian was never exactly sure how Janet felt about him; sometimes he thought she'd resigned herself to him dating Cassie, and other times she seemed more than ready to see them breaking up. So he was fairly uncertain what to do with that, too. Finally, though, he shrugged. It wasn't like things could get any worse, after all.

"She's mad at me."

Janet was surprised he'd even answered, but she hid it well.

"Do I dare ask why?"

Ian shrugged.

"Apparently I'm the shittiest boyfriend alive."

"She said that?"

"In not so many words."

"What did you do?"

He sighed, and shrugged again.

"I buy her the wrong kinds of presents."

Since Janet knew Cassie wasn't all that materialistic – at least, she wasn't as bad as most girls her age – she didn't have a clue what Ian meant by that, and he wasn't giving her many hints to make it any clearer. Whatever it was, though, it was serious – or he'd never be desperate enough to discuss it with her.

"What kind of presents are you buying her?" Janet asked, wondering if she even wanted to know.

"Flowers. Candy. Stuff like that."

"Ah."

Now she understood. And Ian scowled at the understanding in that one little word.

"Yeah."

"So what are you going to do?"

Despite the company he was with, Ian flopped backwards onto the bed – a sure sign of just how desperate and befuddled he was.

"Get her something she wants."

He had a whole list of shit to choose from, after all. Now he just had to find out what the hell a Chia Pet was.

Janet nodded. He was cutting it close, though, since Cassie's graduation was that evening at six – and he still had a briefing to attend. Not to mention it was hardly a secret that he didn't have a clue what he was going to get her.

"Need help?"

He looked up at her, visibly surprised by the offer.

"Really?"

Now it was her turn to shrug.

"Why not?"

He hesitated, but then sat up, looking a little hopeful.

"Sam's taking me shopping at lunch. Want to come?"

"Sure."

"Thanks."

She smiled.

"You're welcome. Now, take off your shirt."

They still had an exam to do, after all, and she knew Hammond was waiting.

OOOOOOO

"The question in front of us," Hammond told SG-1 (and Sam) about an hour later, "is whether or not we should maintain contact with the villagers of this planet. Despite the fact that they're obviously originally from here, how much damage would we be doing to them by our continued presence on their planet?"

The question was pretty much aimed at Daniel, who hesitated before answering, obviously considering his response.

"I'd say it's safe to assume that they're already affected by our visit," he said, finally, casting a meaningful glance over at Ian. "I don't think we would do any more damage by seeing them again…"

"They already think we have _God_," Jack added, looking at Ian as well, his eyes lit with good humor as he teased one of his favorite targets.

Ian scowled.

"The _Son_ of God, O'Neill," Teal'c corrected.

Ian sighed. This was one of those weeks that made him think he should have stayed in bed.

"Ian aside," Daniel said, "I want to see if I can figure out why the Ancients brought the villagers here in the first place – and to do that, I need to get another look at that cave…"

"They didn't," Ian said, speaking for pretty much the first time since the briefing had begun.

Everyone turned to him.

"What?"

"The Ancients didn't bring the villagers to the planet – at least, I'm pretty sure they didn't."

"How do you come to that conclusion?" Daniel asked, confused.

"Because while the English writing in the cave mentions the aliens bringing them there, the Ancient writing in the cave didn't mention the Humans at all – and if they had been responsible for transplanting them, you think they would have said something, right?"

"How do you know it didn't say anything about the Humans?" Daniel asked. "You didn't see it all that long."

"Long enough."

He only needed a glance at it to be able to recall it to mind whenever he wanted to, after all – and they all knew it.

"Why didn't you mention this before?" Hammond asked.

"Nobody asked me…"

"Not to mention he's been a little out of the loop," Sam said. "Janet had him in the infirmary during the briefing yesterday."

Good point.

"What else did the Ancient writing say?" Daniel asked, curiously.

"It was talking about the rocks…" Ian said. "They were planning on coming back to the planet because it held a potential power source that they wanted to study a little longer." He shrugged. "I assume they either figured them out and decided it wasn't something they could use, or someone forgot the address and they never went back."

"So they found more of the rocks?" Sam asked, curiously. She, more than anyone there – with the possible exception of Ian – was more interested in the rocks than the people.

Ian nodded.

"I'm sure they must have. They were falling on our heads, after all, and there's no reason to assume that it was any safer when the Ancients were there."

Everyone looked at him again.

"The cave is made out of those rocks?" Jack asked. "Those flammable ones?"

Ian nodded.

"According to the writing on the wall it is – and I didn't see a whole lot of other rocks on the planet…"

Another good point.

"We should definitely collect a few more," Daniel said. If it was something the Ancients were looking into, then the rocks were probably something they should look into as well.

"Do you think you could find this cave without going back to the village?" Hammond asked Jack, who nodded.

"Probably."

"But shouldn't we at least tell the villagers we're there?" Daniel asked. He wanted to talk to them again – and he really wanted to find out if Sabrina was going to get pregnant.

"We'll see," Hammond said. He looked at the others. "We'll schedule a rock gathering mission for Monday morning."

That would give them the weekend off – and that evening off for Cassie's graduation. Something he didn't want to miss.

"Yes, sir."

There were nods around the table. Everyone wanted to make Cassie's graduation, so they were glad for the delay – even Daniel.


	35. 35

The graduation ceremony was held in the high school gym. It was tastefully decorated, however, and the bleachers were filled with people who couldn't have cared less if the walls were bare and the floor wasn't covered with a temporary matting that protected it from hundreds of pairs of dress shoes and sandals. The graduating class of Cassie's high school numbered about 250, and they all had parents, loved ones and friends there to see them graduate – as well as many students from the other grades, and the school orchestra playing Pomp and Circumstance for them.

"There she is!"

Janet Fraiser was smiling widely, clasping the graduation program booklet tightly in her hand as she watched the students file into the gym, all dressed identically but easy to sort out, nonetheless. Since Cassie had won the Merit award and was also in the top ten of her class (number three), she was also wearing a wide swathing of orange around her neck and shoulders that played off the black of their gowns perfectly, allowing the group from the SGC to spot her effortlessly.

Everyone else looked the way she'd pointed – except Ian, who had already spotted Cassie. It was a large contingent of people he was sitting with, though, and they were mainly military. Several whooped loudly and Cassie glanced up at them quickly and flashed a smile at the crowd. She'd known most of the base would want to come for this – they'd all known her since she was a little girl, after all, and most of them – but not all – knew that she wasn't exactly from Canada like it was claimed. They also happened to know just what a lousy start she'd had on things, and were extremely proud of their Cassie's ability to make a go of things and bounce back into a wonderful young woman – who had garnered a full ride scholarship to one of the best schools in the world.

Ian sat between Sam and Teal'c, holding Jacob, who had started screaming the moment they'd entered such a crowded area filled with so many noisy people and lights. Sam had handed the baby off to his godfather immediately, and Ian owed Sam for taking him shopping that morning (early afternoon) so he didn't even do the customary scowl. He'd simply cuddled Jake, who had stopped crying immediately and had started rooting against Ian's neck, looking for a good place to start gnawing. Sam had protected his shirt with a thick towel designed exclusively for catching drool, so Ian didn't care. His eyes were on Cassie, even though his hands were carefully tight on Jake to make sure he didn't drop him.

The ceremony itself went off without a hitch. After all, the school had plenty of practice sending its graduates off with a good ceremony, and this one was no exception. There were songs sung, and speeches made, and when Cassandra Fraiser's name was called out and she took her diploma the room reverberated with the cheers and applause from the section of the gym that held her admirers. Sam quickly glanced at Jake, to see what her son would make of the sudden loud noise, and found him looking around with interest but no trace of panic, a slimy line of drool connecting the corner of his mouth to Ian's neck, where she could see the tell tale red mark of gnawing. Satisfied that her son was fine, she turned her attention back to the ceremony once more, clapping as loudly as the rest as Cassie, blushing a brilliant – but pleased red at the extra attention – headed for her seat, her diploma in hand.

Within an hour, the ceremony was finished, and everyone was heading for the parking lot. There was a barbeque at the Fraiser's in honor of the occasion, and some people needed to get there and get it set up, while others needed to go get their dogs, who were disgruntled at being left behind when everyone else had left and had probably spent the afternoon ceremony chewing up the carpet and sofa in retaliation. The crowd waiting by Fraiser's car wasn't too large, considering the amount of people that had been in the gym; Janet and Emmett, Sam and Jake (Jack was already on his way to the house to get Jack (the dog) and Jaffer), Daniel and Teal'c, and Ian. River, Shawn and Gina had already gone ahead to the Fraiser's to get the barbeque started and make sure the house was open for anyone who might arrive early.

As Cassie made her way through the crowd, hugging her friends who had graduated with her and smiling thanks at those who continually congratulated her, Ian moved a little to the side. This was Janet's time, after all, and he wanted to make sure that she knew he was more than willing to wait his turn to greet Cassie.

"I'm so _proud_ of you," Janet said, wiping a tear that had managed to escape her meager control and hugging her daughter tightly.

Cassie smiled, hugging her mom back.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Good job, Cass," Daniel said, the moment they'd broken apart. The archeologist swooped in for a hug, too, as did Sam – who was now holding her son, and had to settle for a one-handed hug.

"Thanks, you guys."

She looked over at Ian and smiled, but it was clear she was a little hurt when he hadn't swooped in as well. She didn't have a chance for much of a look, however, because Emmett claimed a hug of his own, and then handed her back to Janet, who was smiling in anticipation now.

"Let's get going, you guys," Janet said. "The parking lot is all well and good, but there's a lot of food waiting at the house to be eaten, and I happen to know that if we don't beat the dogs back there, we're going to end up with scraps while they eat the steaks."

There was plenty of laughter, and everyone started to turn towards their vehicles to get going. Luckily they were all parked in the same area. Cassie looked around, curiously, at then at Ian, who hadn't moved.

"Where's your car?"

It was pretty hard to miss his car, after all.

He shrugged.

"I didn't bring it. I came in a different car."

"Is it broken?"

"No."

There was a jingle of keys, drawing Cassie's attention from the odd conversation – she couldn't _ever_ remember a time Ian had willingly left his car at home – and she saw Janet holding up a key chain. Attached to a couple of keys. Cassie looked at the key chain, confused, but everyone else in the group turned to their right, and she noticed for the first time the Powder Blue Volkswagen Beetle that was sitting only a few cars away with a bright blue bow on the hood.

Her heart thumping, she looked back at Janet, who was smiling broadly, now, and jingled the keys once more.

"Happy Graduation, Cassie."

And she tossed the keys to her daughter, who caught them, stunned.

"_Really_?"

She looked at the car again, feeling her heart leap in her chest. It was exactly what she'd wanted – exactly the right color and the right model and the-

"You should probably get in," Emmett said, smiling as well. "Make sure it fits, and everything."

Cassie squealed, and hugged him, and then hugged her mother, and then Sam and Daniel and Teal'c, and even Ian, who hadn't expected to be in on the love-fest with Cassie still mad at him. Then she raced over to the car, dignity forgotten, and unlocked it.

"I'd say the car was a good choice, Janet," Daniel said with a smile as they all watched her get in.

Janet nodded, still smiling.

"It was that or a chemistry set, and she's going to need wheels next fall."

She walked over to the car, where Cassie had already slipped behind the wheel and was looking at everything excitedly.

"We'll meet you at the house," she said, after Cass had turned the key and rolled down the power window. "I don't have to tell you not to speed, do I?"

Cassie didn't even roll her eyes like she might have – a sure sign of just how excited she was.

"No."

"Well, I'll tell you anyways, because I'm your mother and it's my job. No _speeding_. Understand?"

Cass nodded.

"I promise."

"I'll meet you at home."

The girl nodded again.

"Thank you _so_ much…"

Janet's smile was filled with love, and pride and happiness, and it made Cassie turn to goo inside when she knew it was all for her.

"I love you."

"I love you, too, mom."

Janet moved away from the window, and glanced at Ian, who had been waiting just to the side where he wouldn't be in the line of sight. A tilt of her head told the young man she was finished, and she headed for her car, followed by the others who were also dispersing. Ian walked over and knelt by the driver's window of the car, smiling at the excitement in Cassie's expression at her new gift.

"Can you give me a ride?"

"You're not going to side-seat drive?"

He shook his head, glad that she didn't seem to be quite as angry as she had been – either that or she was simply biding her time.

"I promise."

Cassie nodded, and the other door lock popped up.

"Hop in."


	36. 36

When she stopped at the stop sign at the entrance to the parking lot, Ian spoke again.

"Do you mind stopping by my place for a minute?"

Cassie looked over at him, curiously, and he gave her a look that was probably supposed to be innocent.

"I forgot your present…"

Uh huh. She didn't buy that for a minute.

"Mom's expecting us…"

"She won't mind. It won't take long. Please?"

It wasn't _that_ out of the way, after all.

Cassie nodded, wondering what he was up to, and pulled the car out of the parking lot, heading for his apartment.

While they normally drove with one of them touching the other (usually Cassie's hand would be on Ian's leg while he covered it with his own) this time Ian didn't touch her. Not because he didn't want to, but because Cassie was driving a new car for the first time, and he knew she wasn't as accustomed to the Beetle as she was to her mom's car – or even to Ian's, which she'd driven a few times. He didn't want to end up in a wreck – and certainly didn't want to cause one.

It was less than fifteen minutes later when they pulled into the parking area of the apartments, pulling into the spot beside Ian's sport car, and he opened the door, and then looked over at her.

"Come up with me?"

"You're just getting your present, aren't you…?"

He shrugged.

"I can use the company."

And of course, now she _knew_ he was up to something. She frowned, wondering if this was a tryst in the making. Not that she wasn't all for an afternoon fling with him, but it wasn't really the time, and she was still a little miffed at him.

"Ian…"

"Please?"

She sighed, and got out of the car.

"Not for long, though. Okay?"

He nodded.

While he knew she was still mad at him, Ian reached out and took her hand. The worst she could do, he figured, was pull away, and she didn't do that. Instead she gave him a slight smile, and allowed him to guide her into the building, up the elevator and into his apartment.

Neat as a pin, Ian's place was by far the tidiest place Cassie had ever seen. And the amazing thing was, it was _always_ like that. He told her it was because he was used to picking up after himself from an early age, but Cassie had a feeling that it was just because he hated clutter. And no clutter would dare come to his apartment, or it would risk being swept away. His living room was spotless, his kitchen was spotless, and the dining room table (which was a catchall in Cassie's house) was always cleared off.

Except that she saw when they walked in that it wasn't cleared off at all. In fact, there were several neatly wrapped presents sitting on the table, all sizes and shapes and wrapped in different colored papers.

Ian smiled, a little nervously, she noticed.

"Happy graduation, Cassandra…"

She looked at him, confused, but charmed by the smile and the uncertainty in his expression.

"You didn't have to get-"

"Yes, I did." He interrupted, something he never did. He walked over and picked up one of the presents and handed it to her. "Open it."

Cassie took the gift, and hefted it, trying to discern what was in it without opening it. But that was impossible. Instead, feeling a little excitement – and who didn't feel excitement when they had a present in their hands? – she tore off the wrapping paper, and opened the box. And pulled out a gorgeous sweater made of soft cashmere. Her smiled lit up her face and she turned to him.

"It's beautiful."

He nodded, and smiled.

"I'm glad you like it."

She started to reach for him, to hug him, but Ian pulled away and handed her another box from the table.

"Now this one."

Cassie frowned.

"Shouldn't I open these at the house?"

"No. Here. Please?"

She shrugged and took the box from him, and opened it. Inside was a pair of sandals, neatly done up with little sparkles that Cassie adored so much – although she very rarely actually wore something like it. She smiled, delighted, and wondered how on Earth he'd known to get her something like that.

"They're great," she told him, sincerely. "How did you know I wanted some?"

He smiled, and now he was looking a little more assured of things. So far everything was all right.

"A little bird told me." He handed her another present. "Here."

This time Cassie didn't even argue. She just took the package from him and opened it, revealing a hat. A powder blue baseball cap with the Volkswagen logo on it. Obviously Ian had known about the car, and had decided she needed something to wear to keep her hair out of her eyes when she drove. Cassie grinned, and tried it on immediately, but Ian wasn't finished.

"Don't stop there," he chided her, handing her another present. This box was small, and gaily decorated, and when Cassie opened it she found a long jewelry box. Opening that, she gasped softly and smiled again. A delicate chain of silver of some sort, with a black hills gold pendant was inside, and beside the pendant was a pair of matching earrings.

"Oh…" she said, softly, looking up at him. "They're beautiful…"

He nodded.

"So are you."

Cassie flung her arms around him, holding him tightly, and this time Ian didn't pull away until she made the first move to separate.

"We're not done," he told her, handing her a fair-sized box with green wrapping paper. "Open this."

Curious what could possibly top the necklace and earrings, Cassie grinned when she saw that he'd bought her a Chia Pet. A man's head that was designed to grow a head filled with grass for hair. It was silly, and ugly, and she loved it immediately – even as she realized what he'd done.

"You bought me everything on my _list_…" she said, accusingly, even as she looked at the Chia Pet again. That had been the giveaway, after all. She couldn't remember what else she'd told him to get her – she'd been angry, after all – but Ian obviously had. He'd remembered most of it, anyways. One thing was glaringly missing, but Cassie didn't mind a bit. "Most everything, anyways…" she said, smiling to prove to him that it was okay that he hadn't completed the list.

"Everything," he corrected, smiling. He reached into the front pocket of his jeans and pulled out the final present.

Her eyes widened, and she almost dropped the Chia Pet that was in her hands as he handed her the little box – not even wrapped. She knew immediately that it held a ring – it was the only thing those boxes held, after all. And sure enough, when she set the Chia Pet down on the table and took the box, it opened to reveal a ring.


	37. 37

"Don't panic," Ian said quickly when Cassie looked up from the ring to him. "It's not an engagement ring…"

He wasn't ready to make any such move, and knew that she wasn't, either. Especially with both of them in school, and her going to the other side of the country in the fall.

"What is it, then?" Cassie asked, curiously, and with a little relief. Not that she didn't _want_ to be engaged, but she would have assumed that it was proposed because he felt guilty about making her mad – or worse, that he'd assumed that was what she wanted. Cassie wanted him when he was ready, and not until then. Besides, she had a lot of school ahead of her, and Ian was most definitely a distraction.

Ian took the box from her, and removed the ring. Holding it in one hand, he took hold of her right hand and slid the ring on her finger.

"It's a Promise ring."

She looked down at the ring, admiring the way it looked on her hand.

"It's beautiful…"

He smiled, relieved that she liked it.

"You know what a Promise ring is?"

Cassie's smile was brilliant.

"Remind me."

He hesitated, as if uncertain she was serious, and then nodded.

"It's a promise of my love for you. And in _this_ case, a promise that I'll always be here for you. No matter what you want. Or need. Or ask for."

Cassie felt her insides turn to goo, but Ian wasn't done.

"I'm sorry that it took you getting mad at me for me to finally get it for you… I thought I was just looking out for you."

Cassie took his hand.

"You don't always have to look out for me, you know…"

"Yes, I do."

He had been ever since they'd first met, after all – whether she realized it or remembered it or not.

"No. I'm _not_ a child, Ian. I'm a woman, now, and more than capable of taking care of myself. You, and my mom, and even Sam and Jack have to realize that – but you more than any of them, because you're the one who's driving me crazy."

"I don't mean to."

"I know."

"I love you."

Didn't that say it all? You watched out for those you loved, right?

Cassie sighed, and hugged him tightly. Guys were so dumb sometimes – even brilliant ones like Ian – but she couldn't hold that against him, even as he put his arms around her and returned her embrace.

"I love you, too." She tilted her head to look down at the ring, and then up at him, meeting his beautiful dark eyes. "And I love this ring. Thank you so much…"

"You're welcome…" he brushed a kiss against her cheek, but Cassie turned and caught his lips against hers, kissing him soundly. So soundly, in fact, that it literally took his breath – and hers – away, and the two were flushed when they separated a moment later.

She smiled; slightly embarrassed at her response to him – although it was hardly the first time he'd ever had that affect on her. All that, just for a _ring_? Yeesh! What if it _had_ been an engagement ring? They'd probably have been – well, it didn't matter.

"We should probably get going…" she said, breathlessly.

He nodded, his own smile a tad more amused, although he'd been no less affected.

"We'd better…" Otherwise things would get out of hand quickly. Not so bad if not for all the people who were waiting.

She gathered all her presents, and Ian put them in a large box and carried them down to her car for her, while Cassie walked beside him.

"How did you know my ring size?" she asked curiously, as he put the box into the back seat and then walked around to open her door for her.

"Your mom told me."

"She knows?"

He grinned at her amazement.

"She helped me pick it out."

"My mom?"

"Yes."

"Doctor _Fraiser_?"

He nodded.

"Yes."

"The woman dating Emm-"

He put his finger on her lip to hush her.

"Yes. I was desperate for help, and she offered – and I'm glad that she did, because without her help and Sam's, you'd still be mad at me, and I'd still be miserable."

"You were miserable?" she asked him, smiling a little.

"You were mad."

"Well, I love the presents, and I'm glad to know that Sam and mom helped you…" She told him as she got into the car and started to buckle her seatbelt.

"Why?"

"Because I as beginning to wonder if maybe you _were_ the Son of God – only a real miracle maker could have chosen exactly the right presents to buy to make things right."

Ian cursed – to himself – as she shut the door, wondering who'd told her about that whole Son of God thing. Someone was truly going to pay, because Cassie had such an amused look on her face, he knew he wasn't ever going to live it down.

"Get in," Cassie said, leaning out the window to look up at him. "Unless you're driving yourself…?"

"Are you planning on bringing me home later?"

"Will you turn some water into wine if I do?"

He rolled his eyes, and walked around to the other side of the car, ignoring her amused giggles as well as he could. Oh yeah. _Someone_ was going to pay. _Big Time_.


	38. 38

The party was in full swing when they pulled up to the street in front of Cassie's house. She would have worried about finding a space – in her own block – but when she drove by on the slight chance that there might be one, there was a space right out in front, with a sign on a post stuck into the ground beside it.

_Parking reserved for graduating seniors only!_

She smiled, and pulled her shiny new car into the space, and a joyful bark from the backyard told her and Ian both that their arrival had not gone unnoticed. Sure enough, even as they got out – and Cassie reached into her box of presents for her new hat – around the corner of the house came two three happy and excited labs (two black and one yellow) and one very overweight and extremely slow mutt, looking just as excited to have his Cassie home as Jaffer, Jack (the dog) and Jasmine were.

As the labs swarmed Ian and Cassie, and Cassie's dog jumped up on her trying to get her attention around the far bigger dogs, Cassie looked curiously at Ian.

"Is that Jasmine?"

He nodded, rubbing Jasmine's glossy fur readily. The puppy Jack had given to Gina for her birthday was a spitting image of her father, and while she wasn't quite as big as Jaffer, she wasn't too far off.

"Shawn said Gina might show, and that they'd probably bring her if she did."

Ian saw more of Gina than Cassie did – mainly because of Shawn – but neither of them saw much of Jasmine, and they were both happy to see her. Not as happy as she was to see them, though, and she lapped up the attention they were lavishing on her and the other dogs as if it were nothing more than her due.

"Let's go see who else is here…" Cassie said, calling the dogs off and sending them back to the backyard with a gesture. Well, Jack and Jasmine and her dog, anyways. Jaffer didn't even blink, although he did fall into position beside them instead of blocking their way.

There were a lot of people. Military personnel, and friends from Cassie's school, not to mention three Air Force academy cadets and several brilliant scientists and doctors who had known Cassie as long as anyone and wouldn't have missed the party for anything. Jack had set up two barbequers on the patio and was reigning over them like a king with a spatula in his hand, and there were two tables loaded with food of all sorts; chips, crackers, salads of every variety and size, cheese and vegetables, and all kinds of cakes and cookies. At either end of either table was a cooler on the ground. Some held sodas and juices, and one – closely guarded by one of the adults at all times – held beers, ales and wine coolers.

"What? Did you take the scenic route?" Jack asked as they walked over to see what he was up to – and because it was just one of those things… if you were at a barbeque – even one dedicated to your graduation – you _had_ to see what was cooking.

"We had to stop by Ian's," Cassie said, smiling. "So he could give me my presents." She held up her hand to show Jack the ring on her finger.

Jack caught Cassie's hand in his free hand, holding it closer so he could look at it. It was silver, and speckled with tiny sapphires (that weren't real, of course, since Ian's last name wasn't _Rockefeller_) that graced the entire band. Then he looked at Ian, the question in his eyes apparent.

"It's just a Promise ring. Don't panic."

Jack smiled, and tried to act nonchalant.

"I wasn't panicking."

"Uh huh."

"Isn't it pretty, Jack?"

Before he could answer, a paper was thrust into Ian's hand, and an amused voice spoke up from behind him.

"Could you please tell me how someone who spent _half_ the school year away from school still managed to pull out a grade that is so far ahead of everyone else's that he made them look like unlettered barbarians?"

Ian automatically took the paper from River and turned to look at him. The Californian was smiling, and greeted Cassie with an enthusiastic hug – one that would have annoyed Ian had he been less sure of how Cassie felt about him.

"Congratulations, Cassie."

"Thanks, River."

She returned his hug, and caught one from Shawn as well – which was like hugging your little brother almost – and then looked at the paper that River had handed Ian.

"What's that?"

"Class rankings from the Academy for the last school year," Shawn answered. "Ian's top of the class."

"Like that's a big surprise," the New Yorker said, handing the paper to Sam, who had already seen it and handed it over to Cassie. "Look who's been helping me."

Sam smiled at the compliment, but she shook her head.

"I didn't give you the grade – and I didn't do any of the work. You did all that yourself. I just helped."

"Hey! Shawn's third in the class," Cassie said, looking at the names.

"Look who's _second_," River said, preening.

She smiled.

"Congratulations you guys."

Shawn smiled, blushing, and no one missed the pride in Jack's expression as he slapped his son's shoulder.

"Everyone hates us," River said, not looking at all concerned about that. "Especially _Ian_."

"Nothing new there," Ian said, absently, stealing one of the hotdogs that were cooking on the grill. It was hot, and fairly well burnt his fingers, but he was hungry enough not to care.

"Hey!" Jack swatted at him with his spatula, but Ian avoided it easily. "You wait until they're done like everyone else."

"There she is," Janet said, coming up to the group with Emmett beside her. Behind her were Daniel and Teal'c, and when Cassie looked over at the Jaffa, she saw that he was holding Jacob. The Jaffa's powerful arms dwarfed the infant, but he didn't look like he minded a bit. "How was the drive?"

Cassie smiled, hugging her mother again.

"It's awesome!"

"I'm glad you like it." A quick glance at her daughter's head and finger told her that Ian had handed out his presents – all of them – and the relaxation in Ian's eyes and body language told Janet that all was apparently forgiven. Which was good. She was beginning to like Ian, after all, and didn't feel like trying to break in a new boyfriend. "Just remember to be careful while you're getting used to it."

"And don't let Ian anywhere near the engine," Sam said, smiling at the Cadet, who tried for an innocent look and failed.

"Colonel!" Everyone looked over as Hammond walked up. He gave Cassie a hug by way of greeting, but his eyes were on Jack. "I'm starving. When are we going to eat?"

"It's almost done, Sir," Jack said, flipping the burgers and hot dogs. On the other grill were several steaks, carefully positioned to be able to cook as many as possible at one time.

Hammond looked over at Ian, who stuffed the hotdog he'd stolen into his mouth to hide the evidence.

"_He_ got one."

"He _stole_ it."

The General reached out and snatched a hotdog from the grill as well, and yelped when it burned his fingers. The hotdog dropped before he could stop it, and a flash of teeth and black muzzle instantly announced that Jaffer had simply been waiting for such an occasion. The lab gave Hammond an innocent look – which wasn't much better than Ian's had been – and swallowed the hotdog quickly, as if worried Hammond might go after it.

Bah.


	39. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

The gate shut down behind them and Ian looked around, shaking his head.

"I can't believe I'm back here…"

Jack took a look around as well, no more impressed than Ian was.

"We need to get some of those rocks."

"I know."

It didn't mean he wanted to be there, though. Sure as shit some villager was going to happen by with a splinter and want him to take it out.

"We'll just go to the cave, grab some of the stones and get out," Daniel said, looking around as well, and trying to get his bearings. They hadn't brought the dogs – both Jaffer and Jack had had vet appointments, and the planet had already been deemed safe enough that they wouldn't need the extra offensive capabilities of the dogs – but they could have used them to help find their way around. "We might not even see any of the villagers…"

Although it was obvious from the tone of voice that he really _was_ sort of hoping that they would see someone – Daniel wanted a chance to get to know the villagers better, even though Hammond and the others (including Daniel) had decided that there wasn't really anything that they could do for each other.

Jack looked at Teal'c, who had walked up to stand beside him.

"Think you can find the cave without us having to go talk to any village people?"

The Jaffa nodded, pointing.

"It is that direction, O'Neill."

"Let's go, then." He looked at Daniel. "Stay close, okay?"

OOOOOOOOO

It had been Sam's idea to go back. Well, Sam and Daniel to be exact. They had grilled Ian about the writing on the wall – the _Ancient_ writing, not the English – but he hadn't been able to tell them all that much. Only that the Ancients had written out experiments that they'd tried on the wall – and he couldn't even figure out why they would bother, really. Unless it was to save the information for any of their fellow Ancients that might be coming at a later date.

When he'd mentioned that the Ancients had considered using the rocks as a fuel source, Sam had become even more curious about them and had studied the one little rock they had, questioning Ian about it to see if he could think of anything in the downloaded information rattling around in his head that might be of use. Unfortunately, since the Ancients hadn't figured it out, they hadn't been able to pass any of that sort of information on to him.

"It might not have been efficient enough for them," Ian had told her, picking up the little rock they had once more. "Or they might have decided there was something too dangerous about it to use…"

Sam nodded; it was possible, but she was still willing to take a look.

"You think you can think of something the Ancients didn't?" Daniel had asked her, and Sam had shrugged.

"Why not? They're the most advanced race of beings we've ever heard of, true, but that doesn't mean they knew absolutely _everything_ – besides, what might have not been efficient enough for them might still work for us…"

Ian knew she was right about that – which meant that they needed at least a couple more of the rocks to study, because that little one just wasn't going to be enough.

And that had pretty much decided it.

OOOOOOOO

They found the cave with only a little difficulty, and even better (as far as Ian was concerned – although Daniel was somewhat disappointed) they didn't see any people. When they reached the opening, though, Jack reached out and caught Daniel before he could go in.

"Not you, Daniel."

"What? Why? I-"

"Teal'c can go in and grab a couple of rocks," Jack said. The Jaffa didn't hesitate, and he was in and out quickly – far more promptly than Jack figured Daniel would have done it. With writing all over the walls to distract him, Daniel's archeology instincts and natural curiosity would have gotten the better of him Jack was sure, and he wasn't willing to risk his friend in another cave in. Not when they didn't have to. He didn't say that, though.

Ian handed Teal'c the bag they'd brought to put the rocks in. There weren't many, and as near as anyone had been able to figure it wasn't going to be dangerous to have them rubbing against each other in a bag. After all, they'd been falling from the ceiling onto each other – and the floor – for who knew how many years? If they were going to blow up from the impact, they would have done it by now, certainly.

"Do you believe this to be a sufficient amount of these rocks for study?"

Ian shrugged, "Should be more than enough." It wasn't like they had any idea what to do with them anyways. Besides, if all else failed and Sam _did_ figure them out, they could always come back and get more.

"Good." Jack took his hat off and wiped the sweat off his forehead, then put it back on, looking at his team and making sure they were ready to go. "Let's get-"

"You returned."

All four of them whirled when they heard the voice behind them, and Ian groaned even before he saw who it was. He'd recognized the voice.

"Taylor…" Daniel's frown was nothing compared to Jack's. "What are you doing here…?"

"I was watching you."

Jack stepped up, and the boy took a step back, well able to read the annoyance in the colonel's expression.

"Why…?"

"I wanted to see you…"

"Do your parents know you're here? Do they know _we're_ here?"

"I didn't know you were here until I saw you."

"How's your leg?" Daniel asked, drawing a scowl from Jack, who was more interested in whether or not he was going to have to field an invitation from villagers. He had no intention of spending any more time on the planet than he had to – Sam was waiting at home, and he'd told her he'd be back soon.

"It's perfect," Taylor said, giving Ian a look that was filled with hero worship.

The cadet scowled, but Jack stepped forward before he could say anything. Without the dogs, the boy had snuck up on them fairly easily, and that had annoyed O'Neill more than even having the boy hanging out. Of course, he wasn't the one on the receiving end of those looks, either, which might have something to do with _Ian's_ irritability.

"You need to go home, Taylor."

"I could help you."

"We're done. We're leaving."

Taylor looked at Ian.

"You're _leaving_?"

"Yes."

"But you're not supposed to leave. You just _returned_, and everyone will be won-"

"He's _not_ who your people think he is," Daniel said, gently. "Believe me."

"My father says that he is…"

"He's _wrong_," Ian said, just this side of losing his temper. "I'm not _God_, or the Son of God, or even a great-great _nephew_ of God."

"But-"

"Go home, Taylor."

"But-"

"God_damn_ it, Taylor! Go home!"

Ian had had enough. All weekend all he'd done was deal with shit from everyone – mostly good-natured teasing and comments, but some of it had been downright annoying – and while he didn't mind getting as good as he gave, this whole Son of God thing had taken its toll on him. Frustrated, he shouldered past Jack and the rest of them and headed off into the woods, unerringly going the direction of the gate.

Jack looked down at Taylor, who looked surprised and hurt. But he'd lost that hero worship look – which was just as well.

"Go home, Taylor. You shouldn't be wandering around alone anyways."

The boy turned and looked the direction Ian had gone, and then back up at Jack. And he nodded.

"Are you going to be back?"

Jack hesitated, and then shrugged.

"I'm not sure."

He gestured to the others, and Daniel and Teal'c both turned and started off the same direction that Ian had headed. Then he looked down at Taylor.

"Go straight home, okay? I don't want to have to worry about you."

Taylor nodded, silently, and Jack watched as he turned away and headed back towards his village at a trot.

OOOOOOO

Jack caught up to the rest of SG-1 after only a few minutes, and he fell into step beside Ian, while Teal'c and Daniel took the flanking positions, both listening for the sound of possible pursuit. Jack wasn't so worried, though. He had other things to discuss just then.

"You know…"

Ian sighed.

"Yeah, I was mean to him."

"You were a little hard on him."

"Is he following us?"

"No. I don't think so."

"Then it worked."

Ian wasn't out looking for new friends or anything, after all, and he sure as hell wasn't looking for disciples. He just came for rocks. That was all.

"It's not a question of if it worked, Ian," Jack said. "You're going to have to learn that you need to treat people a little better – especially when you're offworld. You never know; we might need to come back here…"

The cadet looked over at Jack. Ian had read mission reports from way back when – Daniel had left journals in his apartment and Ian had looked through all of them, and he knew that O'Neill wasn't really someone to be lecturing him on how to treat others. Jack had angered more than his share of people, after all – including several possible allies.

"What should I have done? Asked him nicely? You know that wouldn't have worked…"

"I'm just saying…"

"He thinks I'm _Jesus_, Jack. Do you have any idea how annoying that is?"

And they probably hadn't made it any better for him by teasing him all weekend, Jack was sure. But teasing Ian was fun – and Ian was such a confident person most of the time that it was too hard to pass on any chance to get under his skin. Especially once the class list from the academy had come out and he had proof on paper just how much of a genius he was.

"Yeah, I'm sure it is," Jack told him, "But we _do_ need to work on the whole people skills thing…"

He'd said it several times, but he meant it. Ian was a year closer to graduating – and really, from what he'd been hearing from others, Ian was a lot closer to graduating than he thought he was – and Jack knew that if the cadet couldn't get a rein on his inability to deal with others, and maybe learn a little control when he lost his temper, he wasn't going to be able to take the role Jack had planned for him.

Ian sighed.

"Yeah, I know…"

He _did_ know.

"We'll figure something out," Jack said, slapping Ian on the back. He wasn't ready to give up on the cadet yet, and maybe Sam would have an idea. "Let's get home. If you're good, I'll even let you look at some of our new rocks."

Ian rolled his eyes, his good humor slightly restored.

"Lucky me."

Ah well, it wasn't like he had a lot of other plans for the summer, after all.

**The End**

_Okay! That's the end of this one. Remember, it was about graduations so once school was out, that portion of the story finished up – and of course, Ian will never live down the godling thing, but there's nothing else to explore on that particular planet (for now, anyways – unless they find something in the rocks. Which is another story completely if they do)_

_Tell me what you liked, and what you didn't, please! And visit the forum (the link is in my profile) to vote on what comes next_


End file.
